Das Letzte Lied - Chapter Eleven

Touring through Europe was a time for growth for everyone. Tom and Tayla grew closer to each other, finding out that they had a lot more in common than just the physical attraction and Bradyn. They both loved museums, independent films and Chinese food among other things. Bradyn grew closer to both Tayla and Tom as his potty training improved and he ditched the pull-ups completely somewhere in Spain. He began talking a lot more and was speaking a lot more German words along the way, thanks in large part to Georg. Tayla and Tom were able to spend quality time with Bradyn, introducing him to the two-parent lifestyle in a way but they were also sure to make time for themselves by enlisting the four uncles to baby-sit every now and then.

Tom kept in close contact with Astrid and, to his surprise, they actually got along very well. He set up a schedule where they would call Astrid every three days. Tom made plans with Astrid to fly straight through to LA before their return to Germany so that Bradyn could spend four days with her. She sounded excited and Bradyn was ecstatic at the thought of going to the beach again.

They celebrated Bill and Tom's birthday in Edinburgh, Scotland with a full Scottish feast complete with bagpipes and kilts for everyone. Though they worked hard for the time they were there, they were also given the opportunity to see the great attractions that each country had to offer.

The tour ended after eight weeks and they were all packed back on a plane headed home to Germany.

----------------

"You're going to LA?" Gustav asked with a yawn as they stood around the airport lounge waiting for the approval to leave.

"Yeah." Tom nodded and leaned against the wall to take the strain off his back from holding Bradyn. "We're gonna go see Astrid for a few days, then we'll be back." He said softly.

"That's cool." Gustav nodded.

"You're going home, right?"

"You bet."

"We're back in the studio in two weeks."

"Yeah." Gustav nodded. "Halloween."

"The Monday before." Tom shook his head. "October 25th."

"Damn, you're right. I have to remember that."

"Yeah, you do." Tom laughed lightly then shifted Bradyn in his arms.

"When does your flight leave?"

"In like, an hour and a half." Tom yawned as David entered the lounge to tell them it was clear for them to go out to the awaiting cars.

"I'll catch you later." Gustav waved and nodded at Bradyn. "Tell Bradyn I said bye."

"I will." Tom nodded with a smile. The other guys came over to say good-bye and everything before they were shuttled out to the cars leaving Tom, Bradyn and Tayla almost completely alone.

Tayla sighed happily and walked over to where Tom was still holding the wall up. "You look tired." She whispered.

"I'm too exhausted to be tired." Tom smiled and tried as hard as he could to keep his eyes open. He wasn't looking forward to the sixteen-hour flight to LA considering they'd just spent five hours in the air. "You're sure you don't want to come?"

"You know I can't." Tayla smiled. "I have to put in an appearance at home and get some things settled there."

"Well, if you change your mind, you know how to reach me, right?"

"Yes, I do. I'll give you a call a little later." She hopped up on her toes to kiss him while leaning over Bradyn as he slept. "He's out like a light." She whispered.

"With any luck he'll sleep through most of the flight to LA." Tom smiled, then kissed her again.

"I'm not sure if you're that lucky, Tom." Tayla laughed softly. "I still think you should go home and hang out there for a week before you go out. You guys have just spent all day on a plane or in an airport."

"Yeah but this way we get it all done with. If we stayed home for a week, there's no way on Earth I'd be able to convince him to get back on another plane." Tom shook his head. "We'll be home in less than a week, then we're not going anywhere."

"Good." Tayla ran her hand over Bradyn's hair and kissed his forehead. "I love you, little guy." She kissed the tip of his nose and smiled as he squirmed slightly.

"If you wake him up I'll never speak to you again." Tom whispered with a smile.

"You're no fun." Tayla smiled and tried not to look up at the monitors. "My flight is going to be boarding any minute and I still have to run to gate 9." She frowned.

"I know."

"Do you have everything you need here?" She looked down at his backpack and duffel bag by his feet.

"Yeah, we're set."

"You have your snacks and water? Juice?"

"We've got it." Tom nodded.

"Okay." She looked over her shoulder, then bent to pick up her own carry on. "I have to go."

"Okay. Call me later or whatever."

"I will." She kissed him again quickly and smiled up into his eyes.

"Love you." Tom said softly with a half smile. He knew his timing was probably less than perfect but he'd wanted to say that for a while and he didn't want to get on the plane to LA without her knowing that.

Tayla tilted her head to the side slightly as she blushed. "I love you too." She said slowly. "Bye." She adjusted her bag on her shoulder then turned to leave. Tayla walked away without looking back as her confused look melted into an almost giddy giggle.

Tom smiled as he watched her walk away and noticed the tiny skip she gave just before she pushed the door of the lounge open. For the first time in his adult life, he knew what it meant to love someone that wasn't family and mean it.

By the time their flight was called and they were allowed to board, the arm holding Bradyn was asleep and the hand holding their bags was numb. He settled Bradyn into his car seat and calmed the cranky toddler down as they took off. He stared out the window wishing that Tayla could have come with them.

----------------

Their plane landed just after six that night and it was all Tom could do to drag himself and Bradyn off the plane. He thanked the traveling gods for first class seats as he and Bradyn made it to the terminal before everyone else. Bradyn was asleep against his shoulder and he carried both of their carry on bags and the car seat in his free hand. By the time he made it to baggage claim his muscles were quivering and he was thinking that Bradyn really had the right idea. He grabbed a luggage cart and loaded up the car seat and two small bags then maneuvered it over to the baggage carousel. Somehow, Bradyn remained asleep during the whole ordeal, which amazed and pleased Tom. If he were to wake up right then he'd have a crying and cranky two year old to deal with on top of everything.

"This was poor planning on my part." Tom mumbled as he tried to pull the first suitcase off of the moving belt. A gentleman beside Tom smiled and helped him grab the suitcase. "Thanks." Tom smiled weakly.

"No problem. It looks like you've got your hands full."

"Yeah." Tom laughed lightly. "It's been a really long day."

"I can imagine." The gentleman laughed as he looked at Bradyn sleeping peacefully. When Tom's second bag came around the man grabbed it as well and got it secured to the cart.

"Thanks a lot, really. I'd have been here all night." Tom extended his free hand to man.

"I have three kids myself. You're a brave one for traveling alone." He laughed and shook Tom's hand.

Tom laughed and nodded then pushed the cart toward the rental car counter. Within fifteen minutes he had his full sized Ford Explorer rental parked at the curb and a skycap helping him get the luggage into the back. He strapped Bradyn into his car seat which finally woke him up.

"Daddy, home?"

"We're not home yet, buddy." Tom whispered as he dug in the backpack for Lello. He found the dingy looking dog near the bottom and cringed. Lello needed a bath in a major way. "Here, hold Lello. We'll be to the hotel so you can sleep in just a few minutes, okay?"

Bradyn groggily opened his eyes and blinked a few times. "Pie appo?"

"Bill went home, remember?"

"An you an me?"

"We're in LA. We're going to see your Mommy this week."

"No." Bradyn whined. "No, I seep."

"We're going to the hotel right now so you can sleep."

"Kay." Bradyn sighed and held Lello tight as Tom shut the back door. He got in the front and they took off for the hotel more than a half-hour away. By the time he pulled up in front of the hotel, Bradyn was whining in the backseat and Tom found himself whining back. "It's only another couple minutes." Tom said as he jumped out of the car to give the keys to the valet. "I just need to get my son out. And the, uh- The, uh-" Tom's mind drew a blank. "Suitcases! The suitcases." He smiled and shook his head. "It's been one of those days."

"I know the feeling." The valet smiled as he held Tom's keys in his hand. A bellhop came out with a cart and loaded up the luggage. Tom got Bradyn out and followed him into the lobby and up to the front desk.

"Noooo." Bradyn whined as tears appeared at the corner of his eyes.

"We're going right up to bed, buddy. I know you're tired."

"I seep, Daddy."

"I know. I'm working on it." Tom bounced Bradyn up onto his shoulder and dropped his wallet on the counter to check into the hotel. "Hi, I'm Tom Kaulitz. I need to check in." He opened his wallet and slid his credit card over to the desk clerk as he tried not to yawn.

The woman took the card and tapped around on her keyboard. "Long day?"

"Yeah, we flew from Greece to Germany and from Germany to here with stops in Copenhagen and Chicago."

"Oh, you must be tired." She smiled and handed him two key cards and a little booklet. "Here are your keys. You're on the ninth floor, room 9103. Make a left off of the elevators and you won't be able to miss it. If you would like breakfast delivered in the morning, please fill out this card and place it on your door before midnight."

"Great, thanks." Tom tucked everything but one of the keys into his back pocket and switched Bradyn to his other arm. The bellhop followed him to the elevator and went up to the ninth floor with them. Tom found the room with no problem, tipped the bellhop and laid Bradyn on the bed in the separate bedroom all before turning the lights on. "Hey, buddy, let's get your pajamas on." Tom said softly as he kicked his own shoes off. He only sound Bradyn made was a deep sigh followed by a soft bear-like snoring. "That's a great idea." Tom sat on the bed by Bradyn's feet and pulled his shoes and socks off. He would be fine sleeping in his sweat bottoms and T-shirt so Tom pulled the covers back and draped the sheet over Bradyn then sat on his own bed.

The alarm clock on the table between the beds showed that it was barely seven at night but he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. He removed his jeans and T-shirt, then pulled the drapes tightly shut and slid under the covers. It was only a matter of minutes before he too was snoring lightly on his side of the room.

----------------

When Tom woke up the next morning he rolled over to check on Bradyn, only to find the little boy sitting on the bed by his feet. "Hey, buddy, what are you doing down there?" Tom rubbed his eyes and sat up, careful not to kick Bradyn off the bed.

"I up now."

"I see that." Tom nodded and yawned. "What do you have there?"

"Isa boot."

"Where'd you get your boot?"

"Ina case." Bradyn slid off the bed and walked around to where one of the big suitcases was laying open on its side. "Is all, Daddy." Bradyn sighed and dropped the boot back into the suitcase. "Isa mess."

"I know it's a mess. We need to unpack, I think." Tom sat up in the bed and stretched. "We should do that after breakfast though. What time is it?"

Bradyn shrugged and looked toward the sliding glass door leading to the balcony. "We go ou-side now?"

"Sure, hang on." Tom stood up and reached for his pants from the night before and glanced at the bright alarm clock in the process. He pulled them on but left them unbuttoned as he pulled the curtains back and squinted in the sun. "It's barely six in the morning. It's too early." Tom mumbled, then laughed lightly. They'd had almost twelve hours of sleep so why was he complaining?

"Wow!" Bradyn exclaimed as he pressed his face against the glass. He looked up at Tom and laughed. "Wow, Daddy!"

"Yeah, check it out." Tom nodded and carefully slid the glass door open. "Be careful." He said as Bradyn bolted out onto the balcony and immediately pushed one of the chairs all the way up to the building, then climbed up on it. He stood up on the chair and shaded his eyes to look out over the streets below.

"I see it, Daddy!"

"What do you see?"

"Uhhh-" Bradyn thought for a moment. "A car."

"A car, huh?"

"A tuck."

"A truck? Wow, there's a lot to see from up here." Tom stepped out onto the balcony to get some fresh air. The cool morning air hit his bare chest and sent goosebumps all over his body. He looked down at Bradyn standing on the chair and smiled, the little boy had learned a lot while on tour in Europe. Gustav always managed to be the one with the coolest view from his balcony when they had them so Bradyn always wanted to play in Gustav's room. With Gustav being afraid of heights he taught Bradyn how to push the chair close to the door and therefore far from the edge, to stand on it to get a better view. Bradyn had happily taken up that habit and Tom was glad for it. Nothing made him more nervous than Bradyn being near the edge of anything.

They stayed outside for a little while before Bradyn climbed off of the chair and brushed past Tom on his way back into the room. "Are you hungry?" Tom asked.

"Yeah."

"Do you want some eggs or something?"

"A bay-go and eggs?"

"Sure, we can get a bagel too. Do you want blueberry or onion?"

"Cinanin?"

"Cinnamon?"

"Yeah."

"With raisins?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded.

"Okay, I'll call and see if they have any." Tom nodded. He yawned and sat at the table. "I'm hungry."

"I hungy too, Daddy. Hava mosser ina tummy." Bradyn laughed and looked down at his little belly.

"You have a monster in there, huh? Is it growling?"

"Yeah, he say raaawr!" Bradyn growled and clawed at his T-shirt.

"Well, we'd better get you some food then." Tom laughed and dialed down to room service. They'd spent so long in hotels he wondered if he'd ever be able to eat again without picking up the phone first. He ordered up a big breakfast for both of them with apple and orange juice as well as a soda for himself.

"What is?" Bradyn asked as he held up a juicy piece of watermelon once the food arrived.

"That is watermelon. It's good, try it."

"Is candy?"

"No, it's fruit." Tom smiled. "It's really good." He took a bite to show Bradyn, then smiled as he chewed. "Yum."

Bradyn frowned at the peculiar looking fruit and then took a small bite off the end. "Oh, Daddy, is good."

"See? I told you."

"Yeah." Bradyn's smile grew as he finished the piece and reached for another, completely ignoring his eggs.

"Eat your eggs too though, buddy. You can't just have fruit and a bite of your bagel." Tom tapped his fork on Bradyn's plate. He'd been trying to make sure Bradyn ate balanced meals after noticing that he survived mostly on snack food and fruit. "You need some protein."

"Doe like poteen."

"Yeah, you do." Tom laughed. "You like bacon and eggs."

"No poteen."

"Bacon and eggs have protein in them. It's-" He started to explain. "It's like your vitamins. You need to have some with your breakfast."

"I have sooby doo."

"I know you had your Scooby Doo vitamin but you need this stuff too. Just take two bites of the eggs for me please."

Bradyn sighed and ate some eggs before he went back to his watermelon and bagel. They finished up their breakfast, then showered and dressed all before nine in the morning. "We still have all day to chill around here." Tom smiled with his hands on his hips. He checked his watch, then reached for his cell phone to call Astrid. It was early but chances were she'd be up.

"Cawin Gay-og?"

"No, Georg's at home."

"Yeah, cawin him." Bradyn nodded.

"No, we're calling your Mommy. Remember? We came out here for you to see her because she misses you a lot."

"Mommy?"

"Yeah." Tom found her number in the address book on the phone and dialed her home number. It rang for a second while Bradyn bounced around the bed chanting, "Cawin Mommy" over and over again.

"Hey, Astrid. It's Tom. We're in town this week, like we planned. I know it's kind of early so I hope I didn't wake you up or whatever. Maybe you're in the shower- Anyway, we're at the Bel Age so give us a call there when you get this. Or on my cell, I'll have that on too."

"Daddy, I say?" Bradyn asked.

"Hang on, Bradyn wants to say hi." Tom handed the phone to Bradyn and said, "It's her voice mail. Say hi."

"Hi, Mommy." He giggled into the phone. "Hi, Mommy! I see you. I go sim an Daddy. I have bay-go and mamermelon." He handed the phone back to Tom.

"Wait, say bye."

"Bye, Mommy." Bradyn shouted in the general direction of the phone.

Tom smiled and held the phone to his ear to complete the message. "Well, anyway, call when you get this. I'm gonna try you at work too, just in case. Bye." He hung up and looked at the phone. "Okay, one more call." Tom pulled his day planner out of his bag and looked up Astrid's work number. He dialed and waited as it rang through to her voice mail.

"Hi, this is Astrid with Counterman Lautner. I'm either on my phone or away from my desk right now. Please leave your name and number after the tone or press 3 to be connected to an operator."

"Astrid, this is Tom. I left you a message at home but I thought I'd call you here too, just in case you ended up having to go into work or whatever. So if you're at work please call me when you get this. Bradyn and I are at the Bel Age and I have my cell phone with me. Bye." Tom hung up then dialed the number again.

"No, Daddy. One."

"Sorry, buddy, I have to call back." Tom shook his head. When her message came on again he pressed three and waited for an operator to come on the line. "Hi, my name is Tom." He said slowly. He always introduced himself as just Tom to strangers over the phone, especially when it came to Astrid issues. "I'm looking for Astrid Sawatzke."

"She's off today. Is there someone else who can help you?"

"Uh, no. Thanks anyway." Tom sighed and hung up. "Well, buddy, you want to go to the pool?"

"Yeah!" Bradyn threw his arms up in the air and shimmied off the bed. "An I have wing?"

"Yeah, you have your water wings. We didn't forget those." Tom stood up and cracked his back. "We can go hang out there until your Mommy calls, okay?"

Bradyn nodded and pursed his lips in thought. "I have two simmers?"

"You have two what?"

"For my simmin." Bradyn explained as he walked over to the suitcases.

"I don't know what you mean."

"For my simmin." Bradyn repeated as he plopped himself on the floor and dug through the suitcase, coming up with two pairs of swim shorts. "Have two."

"Oh, yeah, two pairs of shorts."

"Yeah." He nodded and carried them over to the bed as he reached for the snap on the front of his jeans. "Howp, Daddy."

"C'mere." Tom smiled and grabbed Bradyn up in his arms. "You're in a big hurry to get in the pool now, aren't you?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!" Bradyn giggled as he slapped Tom's arm to the beat of his words.

"You're crazy." Tom put him back on the floor then unsnapped his jeans. "Put on your shorts while I go change." He stood up and got his own swim shorts out of the suitcase. Unlike Bradyn he had only one pair but they were worn in and comfortable and very well loved. Tom changed in the bathroom then pulled a loose T-shirt on before he slid his feet into his sandals.

"Kay, we go bye now." Bradyn said as soon as he saw Tom. He reached for his father's hand and began to pull him towards the front room and the door.

"Wait, wait, wait. We need to put sunscreen on you and get towels." Tom tugged Bradyn back into the bedroom where he grabbed the neon green kid's sunscreen and squirt some into his hand. "You know the drill."

"Is geen."

"Yeah. It's green." Tom sighed and rubbed the lotion into Bradyn's shoulders, back and face until the green disappeared and he was left looking at a slightly shinier version of Bradyn.

"That's so you don't get sunburned. Trust me, you don't want that."

"An you?"

"I'll put some of this on me too." Tom pulled the Coppertone out of the bag and applied it to himself as well as he could. "Okay, you got your water wings?"

"Yeah." Bradyn grabbed them off the floor. "Have on."

"You want them on now? Why don't we wait until we get to the pool?"

"No, now."

"Okay." Tom shrugged and slid them onto Bradyn's arms. He blew them up then laughed at Bradyn as he walked around with his arms almost straight out to his sides. "You look silly, Bradyn."

"No, I look go simmin." Bradyn giggled and ran for the door.

"Wait for me." Tom grabbed a few towels from the bathroom as well as his phone and room key and then followed Bradyn out the door.

----------------

Tom and Bradyn played in the shallow end of the pool and snacked for most of the afternoon, still waiting for Astrid to call. Around two o'clock Tom went to the pool attendant's booth and ordered a small lunch to be delivered to the pool. Bradyn found it amusing that someone would actually bring them food at the pool and kept asking if they could eat at the pool every day. "I don't think so."

"Yeah, Daddy. I bite anen I sim. I bite anen I sim." He giggled and tried to bring his sandwich to his lips with his water wings still on.

"If you go swimming right after you eat, your tummy will hurt." Tom shook his head. "Here, let me take those off." He reached for the little plugs.

"No, I have." Bradyn turned his body to the side so Tom couldn't reach.

"You can't eat with them on." Tom laughed and shook his head.

"Yeah, I eat." Bradyn chewed on the bite he'd managed to get and smiled up at Tom as he danced around in the puddle under his feet.

"You're a nut."

"No." Bradyn laughed. "You a nut."

"No, you're a nut."

"No, you a nut." Bradyn giggled and tried to take another bite of his sandwich. They finished their lunch with Tom holding Bradyn's sandwich for him. They walked into the gift shop for a few minutes to buy a bottle of cold water. It was a little decoy for Tom so that Bradyn wouldn't rush back into the water after eating. He knew that the no swimming after you eat rule mainly applied to people who were swimming and not toddlers who sat on the pool steps but the paternal side in him liked the rule and decided to enforce it.

After twenty minutes, Tom and Bradyn went back into the pool and played around for another few hours. Tom kept an ear out for his phone and checked it every couple minutes to see if anyone had called but it remained silent. When he finally managed to drag Bradyn out of the pool, he was all shriveled up like a pink raisin and he reeked of chlorine.

They went back up to their room and Tom immediately started a bath. "We need to clean you up, buddy."

"Lato."

"Later?" Tom raised his eyebrow at Bradyn as the little boy grabbed a handful of his little books and sat in the huge recliner chair with his Elmo doll.

"I have book."

Tom shrugged. As long as he got a bath before bed, they were in good shape. "Okay, then I'm going to take a shower, okay?"

"Kay."

"Don't go anywhere."

"Kay." Bradyn said without looking up from his upside down book.

"And don't touch the TV." Tom shook his finger at Bradyn as he reached to pull his T-shirt over his head.

"Kay." Bradyn sighed and shook his head. Several times in Europe Tom came out of the shower to find Bradyn channel surfing and occasionally stopping on the scrambled sex channels complaining that he couldn't see.

"I mean it."

"I no touch." Bradyn looked up and smiled like an angel.

"Okay." Tom smiled. He pulled the bathroom door halfway shut so that he could still hear in case the phone rang.

He showered and dressed in clean clothes but his phone hadn't made a sound. Tom frowned and picked it up to check the reception on his phone. He had five full bars. He dialed the number for time and heard the standard recording as clear as a bell.

"I see pokey man?"

"Pokemon?"

"Yeah." Bradyn giggled and scooted off the chair, stacking his books carefully on the floor beside it.

"I hate that movie." Tom whined as he went to the suitcase to find it. Georg and Bill had gotten Bradyn hooked on the cartoon while they spent hours in their hotel rooms and now Tom was paying the price.

Tom of course took the movie out and placed it in the DVD player for Bradyn to watch. It was a movie that Bill found on one of his many shopping excursions.

While Bradyn watched the video, acting out some of the action sequences with his stuffed animals, Tom cracked open his laptop and went to work. Bradyn knew better than to bother his Dad when the laptop was open so he watched the movie intently and all but ignored Tom.

When the movie was over, Bradyn sighed and climbed up on his bed and stared at Tom while the TV flickered. "Just a second, buddy." Tom mumbled as his fingers flew over the keys. "Just a second." He finished what he was typing, saved it and then turned the computer off. "What time is it?"

Bradyn giggled and tossed Elmo in the air. He squeezed the little red beast's stomach but his batteries died a long time ago. "I doe no."

"Hmm." Tom rolled his shoulders as he stood up and checked his watch. "Okay, I'm going to try to call your Mother again. Where's my phone?"

"Dere." Bradyn pointed to the nightstand.

"No, my cell phone."

"Ummm." Bradyn scampered off the bed to start looking around. "I have!" He picked it up off the foot of Tom's bed and held it over his head.

"Thanks, buddy." Tom took the phone from Bradyn and scanned down to Astrid's home number in the contacts. He listened to it ring and rolled his eyes as her machine picked up again. "Hey, Astrid. It's Tom again. I left you a message earlier this morning and I still haven't heard from you." He sighed and ran his hand over his jaw, "Anyway, we're at the Bel Age Hotel 866-282-4560 or you can always call my cell. We'll be around tomorrow so call when you get this." He hung up the phone and looked down at Bradyn.

"Daddy, I say?"

"No, I already hung up." Tom's cell phone rang as he finished his sentence. "Hey, cool." He stretched across the bed to get the little phone. "Hello?" He asked, hoping it was Astrid.

"Hey, you." Tayla's voice made him smile and almost forget about Astrid.

"Hey, babe." Tom smiled and tugged Bradyn over to the bed. "Guess who it is?"

"Is Mommy?" Bradyn's brow furrowed.

"No, it's Tayla." Tom grinned.

"My Tayla!" Bradyn bounced on the bed and reached for the phone.

"Hang on. Bradyn want's to say hi." Tom said before he handed the phone over.

"Hi, Tayla. Hi!" Bradyn giggled.

"Hi, Bradyn! How are you?"

"Kay."

"Are you having fun in California with your Daddy?"

Bradyn laughed again. "We simmin ina pool."

"You did? Wow, I'll bet that was fun. Is it warm out there?"

"Yeah."

"That's good. It's kind of cold here."

"Is code? Is code ina pool. Where you?" Bradyn asked as he patted his Father's knee.

"I'm at my house in Connecticut. That's pretty far away from you right now."

"You can see?"

"No, I can't come and see you right now but I'll see you in about a week. After you get home from seeing your Mommy."

"Kay. An see Pie appo?"

"I'm sure you can see Bill too." Tayla laughed. "Can I talk to your Daddy now?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, Bradyn. I love you, sweetie."

"Love too. Bye." Bradyn handed the phone to Tom with a stern look. "Is my Tayla and is code." He shook his finger like a drill sergeant giving an order.

"Okay." Tom nodded seriously. "You're cold, huh?" He smiled into the phone.

"Yeah, it's a little cool out here." Tayla laughed. "So how are you guys doing? You made it all in one piece, huh?"

"Yeah, barely. We got in last night like around seven and crashed for a good twelve hours." Tom fell back on the bed and laughed as Bradyn did the same. "To be honest I could use a nap right now."

"Wimp." Tayla laughed and bit her lip. "So how's Astrid. Did she get to see Bradyn today?"

"No."

"No?"

"I left her a few messages but I haven't heard back from her. I had just hung up when you called so I actually thought you were her."

"She's not at home?"

"No, well- I don't know. I've left her messages at home and at work." Tom shrugged. "I don't know."

"Have you gone to her house? Maybe something happened." Tayla frowned.

"No, we haven't done that. I guess if I haven't heard from her by tomorrow we'll do something." Tom sighed. "I'm more upset than worried right now though."

"Well, yeah, but I don't think she'd just not be there, you know? She's been doing really good lately, hasn't she?"

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, we've only talked on the phone while we were on tour and she was there when I said we'd call and everything. And then you know she came out to see him and called when we were home."

"Hmm." Tayla sighed, wanting to change the subject. "Well, are you guys having fun anyway?"

"Yeah, we hung out at the pool today. All day. Literally, we got there at ten this morning, had lunch there and we didn't come back up to the room until almost four." Tom smiled. "I forgot how nice it is here in California. It's the end of September and still warm enough to lounge by the pool and get a tan."

"That must be nice. I have my sweats on and I'm curled up on my couch with a mug of hot tea." Tayla laughed.

"Are you wearing mittens and wool socks too?" Tom joked.

"No. Smartass. I swear, it's something like 55 degrees here and I'm cold. I must be a California girl at heart." Tayla laughed and sipped her tea. "I wish I had coffee though. Or hot chocolate. Tea just isn't what I'm in the mood for right now."

"We have coffee and hot chocolate here. You could come out and have some of ours if you want." Tom laughed, though he was only half kidding. He'd love to have a real vacation with Tayla, one that didn't require a schedule and four other people.

Tayla laughed softly. "This is your time out there with Bradyn. It's his time with his Mom. I'll see you plenty when you get back to Germany."

"Promise?"

"Of course I promise. You'll be back this weekend right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." Tayla nodded and made a mental note.

"Are you coming to visit?"

"No, I just wanted to make sure you weren't staying there for two weeks or something."

"I told you before it was just for this week."

"I know but you have a habit of changing your mind you know." Tayla smiled and pulled her feet up on the sofa as her roommate walked through with her arms full of groceries. "And I wouldn't blame you at all, California is gorgeous."

"Well, if you want, you could fly out here and meet us and we can have a little mini vacation out here. Just you and me and Bradyn."

"A six hour flight doesn't sound like any kind of fun." Tayla laughed. "I'll go see you when you get home, I promise. Even if I have to swim the ocean."

"I think taking a flight would be best."

"Yeah." She shrugged. "But it might be fun to swim the ocean."

"You're a strange girl." Tom laughed and shook his head. "Hey, buddy, can you put those away? Put them in the fridge." Tom said as Bradyn rolled two apples around on the floor. "Those are to eat, not to play with."

Bradyn sighed and rolled his eyes. He picked up the fruit and put them in the fridge.

"He's turning into one of the guys. I swear, he's rolling his eyes and sighing at me now. You'd think he was Bill or something."

"Well, that's what you get for letting them have any kind of influence on him."

"I've noticed you roll your eyes once or twice."

"Tsk." Tayla rolled her eyes and laughed.

"I heard that." Tom laughed

"I'd better get going. My roomie just got back and it sounds like she has a car full of groceries."

"Okay."

"Give me a call later though. And definitely let me know when you get home."

"I will." Tom nodded. "Hey, at the airport, you know when you were leaving and everything?"

"Uh huh." Tayla's heart rate picked up.

"I didn't freak you out or anything, did I?"

"Freak me out?"

"Yeah, well, I mean, you just kinda left."

"I just kinda left?" Tayla asked, realizing that she sounded like a myna bird.

"Are you my echo now?"

"No, I- I wasn't freaked out. I wasn't ready for it but it's fine. I love you too." Tayla said softly. "I mean, both of you."

Tom nodded. "It kinda just slipped out but I've been thinking about that for a while." He licked his lips and pulled Bradyn onto his lap as the little boy walked by. "I'm glad I didn't freak you out."

"It would take more than that to freak me out."

"I'm not sure I want to see you freak out again."

"It's not pretty." Tayla laughed. "Wait, again?"

"You freaked out on me before. At the beginning of all of this when I was a lousy Dad."

"Oh yeah." She blushed. "Yeah, well, you deserved that."

"I know I did."

Tayla listened to Kaelah fumble around in the kitchen before she flew by on her way back out to the car, "Wanna lend me a hand here?" She asked quickly.

"I have to go." Tayla smiled. "I'll talk to you later."

"Okay. Tell Kaelah I said hi."

"I will." Tayla laughed, knowing what her roommate's reaction would be. Kaelah was a closet die-hard Tokio Hotel fan and was constantly giving Tayla a hard time about her relationship with Tom. Kaelah went about subtly trying to get all the scoop Tayla had while trying not to grovel for a chance to meet Bill, the love of her life. "Good night."

"Good night." Tom bit his lip and waited for her to hang up the phone before he hung up his cell phone. "Okay, buddy." He bounced Bradyn up and down on knees to make the little boy giggle. "How about if we go out to get some dinner tonight? I'm pretty sick of hotel food."

"Yeah." Bradyn made a face. "We can go donos?"

"No." Tom laughed. "I don't think we'll go to McDonald's." He checked his watched and sighed. It was already after seven and getting a little late for dinner.

"Yeah, I have kickin nugget."

"I think we'll go to a restaurant and get some real food."

"And cookies?"

"We'll have to see if they have cookies."

"An I eat all?" Bradyn giggled and put his hands over his mouth.

"Well, I don't know if you can eat them all but, yeah, you can have some." Tom laughed. "Okay, buddy, let's get going before it gets too late." He stood up and threw Bradyn in the air.

Bradyn laughed hysterically. "Whoa, Daddy!"

Tom laughed with him and hugged him close. "I love you, buddy."

"Love you, Daddy." Bradyn said with his face squished into Tom's shoulder.

"Let's go." Tom grabbed his car key and room card and they headed out. "So tomorrow maybe you can see your Mommy."

"And go ina ossin?"

"Yeah, she might take you to see the ocean." Tom nodded.

"No, you."

"You're here to see your Mommy though. You can see me any time you want." Tom smiled and hit the call button for the elevator.

"No, you see a ossin."

"If your Mommy takes you, I don't know if I'm going to be there." Tom shook his head. "But we'll have to see. Maybe your Mommy has other plans. Maybe you'll get to go see a movie again!"

"Seppel?" Bradyn frowned.

"No, Seppel isn't here with us this time." Tom shook his head. He had turned down the offer to have security this time. Almost everyone who cared where he'd be would be thinking he was back in Germany recuperating from the tour, not in LA. He always had Seppel's number handy though, just in case.

Bradyn sighed as they stepped onto the elevator. "Daddy, I like Seppel."

"I know you do. He's cool."

"Yeah." Bradyn looked sad for a minute. "I see Seppel lato?"

"Yeah, we'll see him later. Maybe when we get home we can see what he's up to."

"Kay." Bradyn nodded and seemed satisfied with that answer. Tom carried Bradyn out of the hotel and they walked a block down the street to a little Chinese restaurant. They sat at a little table by the cash register and ate their dinner. Tom filled up on his spicy meal while Bradyn picked at his rice and ate all of the pineapple out of his sweet and sour chicken.

"Daddy, is like a nugget?" Bradyn held up the piece of batter fried chicken.

"Yeah." Tom laughed lightly. "Kinda. It's good though, try it." He took the piece from Bradyn and bit it in half. "Yum."

"You have."

"No, I have my own dinner. You eat this." Tom blew on the bite then fed it to Bradyn. "Pretty good, huh?"

"Yeah." Bradyn mumbled with his mouth full. They finished up their meal and Bradyn was excited to see that they got a cookie when they were done.

"You can break the cookie open and there's a note inside." He demonstrated and read his fortune out loud. "You will find success when you follow your instincts." Tom smiled and tucked the small paper into his wallet. He took Bradyn's hand and they headed for the exit as Bradyn cracked his fortune cookie in half.

"It say?"

"What does it say?" Tom asked.

Bradyn held it in front of him and said, "It say hi Daddy ina ossin."

"It does, huh?" Tom laughed swung Bradyn's hand.

"Yeah. We see a ossin morrow."

"Yeah, maybe tomorrow."

"And Tayla?"

"We'll see Tayla after we get home." Tom nodded.

"Kay."

"Okay." Tom said softly. Bradyn dropped his fortune on the ground as they rounded the corner and headed back to the hotel.

----------------

When they returned to the room Tom's eyes went directly to the phone on the desk. There were no messages waiting for him and his cell phone hadn't rang all night. He sighed then let go of Bradyn's hand. "Okay, go get your pajamas out so you can take a quick bath and get ready for bed."

"I tired." Bradyn yawned and stumbled toward the bed closest to him.

"I know but you need a bath. You smell like sunscreen and ketchup." Tom walked through the bedroom and turned the bathroom light on. He started the water and kept his hand under it to feel for the temperature. "Come on, buddy."

"Have a bass ina mornin?"

"No, the water is already started. Come on, we'll make it quick."

"Turn off, Daddy."

"I can't turn it off." Tom stood up and walked out to the bedroom. He helped Bradyn take his clothes off then carried the naked little boy to the bathroom. "We'll be real fast, okay?"

"Kay." Bradyn yawned and didn't protest as Tom sat him in the warm water. "Morrow we go ina ossin?"

"Yeah, maybe tomorrow we can go see the ocean. Maybe your Mommy will take you."

"Kay." Bradyn nodded and let Tom pour water over his head. "Mebby Mommy is ona phone?"

"No, your mommy isn't on the phone but I think she'll call tomorrow so you can see her. We can call her in the morning again, okay?"

"I can say?"

"Sure, you can talk on the phone too."

"Kay." Bradyn nodded and tilted his head back so Tom could wash his hair. "Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"I have cut."

"You have a cut?" Tom poured a few drops of baby shampoo in his hand and massaged it into Bradyn's short hair.

"My hair."

"Oh, yeah you had a hair cut last week. Adrian cut it, remember?"

"Yeah. Cut my hair an you hair an Goose-gog hair."

"That's right."

"Yeah." Bradyn closed his eyes tight and said, "Rinse."

"Yeah, now we rinse." Tom laughed lightly. Bradyn knew the drill down to the last tiny detail. He used the over-sized cup they'd gotten at a 7-11 somewhere along the way and rinsed the shampoo out of Bradyn's hair. Tom took a deep breath and smiled. The scent of Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo always seemed to bring a smile to his face. He'd even used it once or twice just to have the scent around him when Bradyn wasn't nearby.

Bradyn used the little hotel wash cloth and soaped up his body, then stood and let Tom finish up and rinse him off. "You're set. See, that was pretty fast."

"Yeah, is fast." Bradyn nodded as he yawned. Tom grabbed a thick towel and wrapped it around Bradyn before picking him up. He held him close as they walked out into the bedroom to finish drying Bradyn off.

"You got your pajamas?"

"Yeah." Bradyn held the towel around his shoulders as Tom lifted the red and yellow stripped pajamas off the bed.

"Where's your underwear?"

"I doe no."

"Okay." Tom stood up and dug through his suitcase. "Superman or Pokemon?"

"Pokey man." Bradyn giggled.

"You got it." Tom smiled and brought the little underwear over to where Bradyn was standing on the bed. As soon as Bradyn was potty trained Tom had gone out and bought him dozens of pairs of big boy underwear and a few pairs of boxers. Bradyn wasn't a big fan of the boxers but Tom assumed it was an acquired taste.

When Bradyn was dressed in his pajamas, Tom quickly ran a comb through his hair and grabbed Lello from the chair in the other room. "Okay, here you go."

"I have Lello." Bradyn smiled and sunk into the big pillow at the head of his bed with Lello tucked under his arm.

"Yeah, you're set." Tom said softly. He sat beside Bradyn and pulled one of the children's books out of Bradyn's backpack. "One story, then it's sleep time, right?"

"Yeah." Bradyn yawned and Tom knew he'd be lucky if Bradyn even made it through the first few pages.

Tom opened The Saggy, Baggy Elephant and began to read softly. Before he'd finished the book Bradyn was snoring, just like he'd expected. "Good night." Tom whispered as he set the book aside and switched the little light off.

Tom leaned down and kissed Bradyn's forehead then sighed. He said a silent prayer that Astrid would call in the morning so that Bradyn would be able to see her. The last thing Tom wanted to do was try to hunt her down in her own city and he hoped it wouldn't come to that.

He sighed then grabbed his iPod and his laptop and sat at the desk to do a little writing before he went to bed himself. The eight weeks on tour with Tayla and Bradyn had given him lots of inspiration and he couldn't wait to put those feelings to music.

----------------

With a loud yawn, Tom raised his arms over his head and tightened the muscles in his chest. At just before seven, Bradyn was still asleep and Tom was somehow wide awake. He stood up beside his bed and scratched at his bare stomach as he reached for his cell phone. If he called Astrid before seven in the morning, maybe he'd catch her at home. He dialed her number and tapped his fingers on the headboard of his bed as it rang through to her answering machine yet again. "Hey. It's me again. Just checking in. Bye." He hung up the phone and sighed as Bradyn stumbled blindly out of bed and toward the bathroom.

"I go potty." He mumbled as he pushed the bathroom door open and stood on his tiptoes to turn the light on.

"Don't miss." Tom smiled.

"Kay." Bradyn yawned and bumped into the wall as he tried to lift the lid.

"We should just leave that up." Tom laughed lightly and dropped his cell onto the unmade bed.

Bradyn didn't answer but a minute later he flushed the toilet then came out of the bathroom yawning. "Bye." He grumbled with a slight frown and climbed back onto the bed.

"Bye? Where are you going?"

"Nigh-nigh."

"It's not bed time. It's time to get up."

"No." Bradyn shimmied his knees up so that his little tush was up in the air. "Nigh-nigh." He yawned and closed his eyes against the pillow.

"Okay, you can sleep for a little while longer." Tom yawned and went to the window to pull the curtains back. He stared out at the city and scratched at his shoulder. "Come out, come out wherever you are." He whispered to Astrid.

He cracked the door open a little to let in some fresh air and grabbed his notebook He laid back on his bed to wait for Bradyn to wake up for good.

----------------

It was almost eight thirty when Bradyn rolled over, yawned and said, "We have chip muffin an juice?"

Tom smiled and set his notebook aside. "You want a chocolate chip muffin?"

"Juice." Bradyn nodded.

"I think they might have that." By then he should have known that all hotel room service menus were just about the same and that chocolate chip muffins would not be a problem. "Let's call and see."

Tom called down and ordered up breakfast for both of them, including Bradyn's muffin and juice. They ate outside on the little walled in balcony and brushed the crumbs over the edge when they were done. "How about if we go find a park today?" Tom asked as he ate the last bite of Bradyn's muffin.

Bradyn yawned and slid off his chair as he nodded. "Yeah, ana swing ana slide."

"A swing and a slide? I bet we can find a park with a swing and a slide but first you need to get dressed so let's go back inside and find you something to wear."

"No." Bradyn giggled. "I wear jammies."

"No. You'd look pretty silly at the park in your pajamas. All the other little kids would laugh and say 'Look at that little baby wearing his jammies.' You don't want that to happen, do you?"

"No."

"So let's go get dressed."

"Jammies rock."

"Yeah, I know you think jammies rock but we still have to get you dressed."

"And Pie appo."

"I know Bill thinks jammies rule too but Bill is weird."

"No, you."

"I'm weird?"

"Yeah."

"You're weird." Tom laughed and picked Bradyn up to toss him in the air over the bed. "You're the weirdest kid I know."

"No way."

"Yes way." Tom laughed and set him on the bed. "Come on. We really need to get you dressed and stuff."

"And you?"

"Yeah, I need to get dressed too." He nodded and went to the dresser against the wall. "Do you want to wear jeans or shorts?"

"Deans."

"Okay." Tom got out Bradyn's little button fly jeans and a little T-shirt. He pulled them on over Bradyn's clean Spiderman underwear. "Can you find your shoes for me?"

"My sando?"

"No, get your sneakers. We're going to a park so you need to wear real shoes."

"Kay." Bradyn jumped off the bed and began his search for his shoes.

Tom pulled clothes for himself out of the drawers then went into the bathroom. "Okay, keep looking. I'm going to take a shower real quick, okay?"

"Kay." Bradyn nodded as he got on his hands and knees to look under the bed.

"Okay." Tom said softly as he shut the bathroom door half way and started his shower. Halfway through soaping up Tom heard the bathroom door open all the way and a little voice say, "I find my shuss!"

"Good job!" Tom put the soap down and pulled the shower curtain back a few inches. "Put them on the bed for me, okay?"

"You ina bass?"

"Yeah, I'm taking a shower."

"Ina bass?"

Tom looked down at his feet. "Yeah, this is a bath too."

"I can see?" Bradyn walked over to the side of the tub and looked in. "Wow, Daddy."

"Yeah, it's cool." Tom placed his wet hand on the top of Bradyn's head and turned him around. "Wait for me out there. I'll be out in just a minute."

Bradyn sighed and shut the bathroom door behind him as he left Tom to finish his shower in private. When Tom was done in the shower, he toweled off then dressed in jeans and a short sleeved shirt. He stepped out into the bedroom barefoot and sat on the bed to tie his shoes. Bradyn climbed up beside him and put his feet in Tom's lap to get his own shoes tied. Tom double knotted the little sneakers and patted Bradyn's knee. "There you go. We're ready to rock and roll."

"Roll?"

"Rock and roll." Tom smiled. "Like Georg, remember? Rock and roll!" Tom imitated Georg shouting with a guitar in his hands.

"Yeah, you silly."

"Georg's silly."

"An you." Bradyn smiled and took Tom's hand. "We go."

"Yeah, we go." Tom laughed and grabbed the backpack with the toys as they headed for the door.

----------------

After driving around for more than forty minutes, Tom finally found a small little park in the middle of a residential area that looked good. They spent the afternoon there with a handful of other children and stay at home moms or nannies that were there as well. Bradyn shared most of his toys but became possessive of his favorite green shovel. After the second altercation, Tom finally took it away and put it in the car, letting Bradyn use what toys he had left.

It was almost noon when Bradyn went over to where Tom was sitting on the edge of the sandbox and climbed up into his lap. He sighed loudly and looked up at Tom. "I have lunch?"

"Are you hungry?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, let's head back to the hotel then and we'll get some lunch. Do you want a sandwich or do you want a happy meal?"

"Kickin ana toy."

"Okay." Tom nodded and began to pick up the rest of Bradyn's sand toys. A few happy meals wouldn't hurt Bradyn this week. Besides, it's supposed to be a vacation. Tom tried to rationalize the fast food of the week as they loaded everything in the car and headed out. Bradyn waved through the window at his new little collection of friends. He rested his head against the back of his seat. "I just wan see Pie appo an Gay-og an Goose-gog."

"We'll see them in a few days. When we get back to Germany we'll call them, okay?"

"Morrow?"

"Not tomorrow. In a few days."

"Kay." Bradyn looked out the window as he pursed his tiny lips and frowned. Tom imitated Bradyn's pouty look in the rear view mirror then laughed at the little boy. "No, Daddy."

"Oh, don't be pouty now. We're having fun."

"No."

"You're not having fun?"

"I see guys."

"I know you want to see the guys and we'll see them when we get back. They're far away right now but we'll see them this weekend. I promise."

"I see now."

"We can't see them right now." Tom shook his head and turned the car back toward the main road so he could look for a McDonald's.

They didn't have to go far before the golden arches came into view. Bradyn immediately cheered up when Tom opened the happy meal and pulled out the little action figure. They nibbled on french fries on their way back to the hotel, then sat in the car and ate the rest of their meal before going up to their room.

----------------

As soon as they walked in the door Tom checked the hotel phone for messages but wasn't surprised when there were none. His cell phone was in the backpack and had been silent all day. He took it out and checked to make sure but again he saw that there were no messages. Tom frowned then dialed Astrid's home number again but expected it when her answering machine picked up for the second time that day. He sighed and hung up. It would be pointless for him to leave yet another message. His brow creased with worry and he tried to rub the lines out as he rested his head in his hands. "What if something had happened to her?" He decided to take Tayla's advice and drive over to her house.

"Come on, buddy. We're going to go see what's up."

"We go bye gan?" Bradyn asked hopefully.

"Yeah, kinda. We're going to go to your Mommy's house to see what's going on." Tom tossed a little bag of snack crackers into Bradyn's worn out backpack and dropped it over his shoulder. "Come on, let's go."

"We can go ina ossin?"

"No, we're not going to the ocean right now. We're going to go see if your Mommy is home." Tom reached for Bradyn's hand as they left the room.

"Anen we go ina ossin?"

"If your Mommy is there maybe she can take you."

"Yeah!" Bradyn giggled as they waited for the elevator. They rode down to the lobby then crossed the wide floor toward the concierge desk.

"Hi, do you have like a map or something?" Tom asked as he walked up to the desk with a slip of paper in his hand.

"I can look up an address and directions for you if you'd like, sir." Isaac, the young concierge, smiled.

"Yeah, that'd be great." Tom handed him the paper and lifted Bradyn to sit on the counter.

"Oh, I know right where this is." Isaac smiled and grabbed a pen. "Do you know where Santa Monica Boulevard is?"

"Yeah, that's right up that way, right?" Tom nodded toward the entrance of the hotel.

"Right, go up San Vicente. That'll take you straight through to Santa Monica. Make a right onto Santa Monica and go past the 405 a little bit. You'll make a right onto Chelsea Avenue and then another quick right onto Chelsea Place." Isaac pointed as he drew a little map on the back of Tom's paper. "It's not too far really."

"Okay."

"My cousin used to live on Chelsea. That's why I know where it is."

"Cool. Thanks." Tom took the address with the roughly drawn map and he and Bradyn headed out. Tom followed the directions and was lead straight to the apartment complex where Astrid lived. He parked on the street and double checked the address before he got out and helped Bradyn out of his seat.

"Where we go?" Bradyn asked as his feet hit the sidewalk.

"We're going to your Mommy's house."

"No." Bradyn whined. "No wanna see her how. I wanna ossin." He stuck his bottom lip out in a perfect imitation of Bill's baby pout.

"I know you want to go to the ocean, buddy. I'm working on it."

"No work."

"I'm working on trying to find your Mom so she can take you."

"No, you."

"We're out here so you can visit your Mother." Tom sighed as he tugged on Bradyn's hand.

"No her, Daddy. You."

"Come on, Bray. Not now." Tom sighed as they walked to the back of the little complex and to up to the door at apartment D. Tom knocked on the thin metal screen attached to the door. It rattled on its hinges but didn't produce a very loud knocking sound.

"We go insye and see?"

"We can't go inside. I don't have a key." Tom shook his head but pulled the screen open to knock on the solid door behind the screen. He knocked three times but there was no sound from inside. "Damn it." Tom grumbled as he slammed the screen door. He looked around the small complex looking for any sign of life but was met instead with Bradyn's wide eyes staring up at him.

"Uh oh." Bradyn flinched as the metal screen crashed against its frame.

"Damn it." Tom said again only softer. He dropped Bradyn's backpack onto the ground and knelt beside it. "She'd better be laid up in a hospital somewhere. This is driving me crazy." Tom grumbled under his breath then instantly regretted it. He closed his eyes tightly and shook his head with a sigh. "I don't think she's home, buddy."

"Uh oh, Daddy." Bradyn said as he sat on the shallow step.

"Yeah, uh oh is right. She's not being very nice right now." Tom took a deep breath. "It's okay though. I'm just a little frustrated right now." He dug around in the bag until he came up with a marker and an old envelope. He scribbled a note for Astrid to call him. He folded it and tucked it between the screen and the door. As he slid the note between the door frame, he leaned over to look in the nearest window. A light dusting of dirt covered the screen and left a black smudge on Tom's hand as he shaded his eyes to get a closer look. The apartment was as empty as the courtyard. Tom heaved a heavy sigh as he shook his head again. "Let's go." He put the pen in the bag and took Bradyn's hand. They walked quickly back to the car and took off for the hotel.

"Now we see a ossin?" Bradyn asked from the back seat as Tom made a U-turn in the street and headed back in the direction they came from.

Tom checked the clock on the dash. "No, it's time for your nap."

"No." Bradyn frowned from the back seat as he fought a yawn.

"Yeah, you didn't get one yesterday so you really need one today." Tom nodded.

"No, I see a ossin." Bradyn protested.

"We can go to the ocean tomorrow maybe."

"Noooo." The tiny voice whined from the backseat.

"Listen to that whine. Do you want some cheese with that?"

"Nooooo, Daddy. No cheese."

"With a whine like that I'd say you definitely need a nap." Tom nodded and turned onto Santa Monica Boulevard.

"Noooooo!" Bradyn whined even louder.

"I'm gonna take a nap too. We can both take a nap. After that we can go do something fun."

"No wan nap!"

"I know you don't want to but you're one tired little boy."

"Nooo!!" Bradyn whined as he kicked his feet at the seat in front of him.

Tom bit his lip and refused to give him any more attention for the rest of the ride back to the hotel. He carried a still whining Bradyn up to the hotel room, took off his shoes and laid him on the bed. "We're both gonna take a little nap."

"No, Daddy." Bradyn whined but stayed on the bed.

"Yeah. I'm tired." Tom lay on his own bed and sighed as he dropped his head onto the pillow.

"No." Bradyn scowled and sat cross-legged between his pillows.

"Fine, you can sit there all you want. I'm taking a nap." Tom reached into his backpack and pulled his iPod out. He placed the ear buds in his ears and hit play as he lay back on the pillow.

"No!" Bradyn shouted as he tried to climb off the bed.

Tom slid one of the ear buds out and lifted Bradyn back onto the bed. "Listen to me, Bradyn. Today is not the day to push me. If you want to scream and have a fit, go right ahead but you're going to do it on the bed." He dropped Bradyn back in the center of the bed as the little boy began to cry in anger.

Tom lay back on his bed and moved the ear buds back into place. He stared at the ceiling and turned his music up to tune out the crying from the bed beside him. Within twenty minutes, Bradyn had cried himself to sleep and Tom removed the iPod. He set it in his backpack again before he fluffed his pillow and lay his head down again to take his much needed nap.

----------------

The hotel phone rang on the nightstand, pulling Tom slowly out of his deep nap. He cracked his eyes open as it rang a third time but before he could focus on the phone, he heard the plastic handset being lifted and a tiny voice saying, "Hi."

"Hey is- Bradyn? Is that you?" Bill asked.

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded.

"What- Where's your Daddy?"

"Seepin."

"He's sleeping?"

"Yeah. Isa nap."

"What time is it there?" Bill frowned and Bradyn remained quiet.

"I doe see a ossin." Bradyn mumbled.

"What?" Bill asked with a smile.

"I doe see a ossin." Bradyn repeated. "Daddy say no an see Mommy." He sighed and held the huge handset to his ear with both hands. "Can see you?"

"Can I see me?"

"No, me."

"Can I see you?" Bill asked. He wasn't as fluent in toddler speak as Tom. "No, I can't see you."

Bradyn sighed and climbed up on Tom's bed. "Daddy, isa phone." He poked Tom's side.

"Who is it?" Tom mumbled as he rolled onto his side. He'd heard the phone ring and Bradyn talking but he wasn't sure if he was totally awake.

"I doe no." Bradyn held the phone out to his father.

Tom's eyes flew open. He wasn't dreaming this. He sat up quickly and took the phone from Bradyn. "Hi, who's this?" He asked quickly.

"It's your favorite twin. What are you doing sleeping out there?" Bill laughed.

"Hey." Tom smiled and turned to Bradyn as he rubbed his eyes. "It's Bill, buddy. Were you talking to him?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded and crawled around on Tom's bed.

"What's up?" Tom asked.

"Nothing much. I'm just calling to see how things are going." Bill cradled his phone between his ear and shoulder as he walked out to his backyard.

"Eh, we haven't heard from Astrid yet. We went by her house today and she's not there. She hasn't returned my calls or anything."

"Really? You tried her at work?"

"I've tried everything." Tom nodded as he ran his hand over his face.

"That sucks. So you went out there for nothing?"

Tom shrugged though Bill couldn't see. "We'll see. Maybe she'll show up." He said the words but he didn't believe them. He was already starting to lose what little faith he had in Astrid.

"Well at least you're in LA and not someplace that sucks." Bill laughed.

"Yeah."

"Speaking of which, how long are you guys out there?"

"Just until Thursday."

"Oh, okay."

"Why?

"Nadiehn and I are heading there on Saturday. I thought if you were gonna be there we could meet up for dinner or a show or something."

"A show?"

"I hadn't thought that far ahead." Bill laughed. "Oh, well. We'll catch up with you guys when we get back."

"Okay." Tom nodded. "How are things going there?"

"Where? Here? As in Germany?"

"As in with you guys." Tom smiled and put a pillow behind his back as he sat against the headboard.

"Daddy, we see a ossin?" Bradyn asked as he crawled over Tom's legs to sit beside him.

"We'll drive by and see the ocean tonight after dinner." Tom said softly to Bradyn before he turned back to the phone. "So?"

"We're fine. Great actually."

"Has she gone crazy with wedding plans yet?"

"No, not yet. We're still working on a date."

"You haven't set a date yet? You guys are lagging." Tom kidded Bill like he had for most of the time they were on tour.

"Yeah, well, as soon as I proposed I left for two months so we haven't had that much time to talk about it."

"I'm not buying that." Tom laughed.

"We have to wait until our new tour schedule comes out and everything like that. Whenever the date is, it'll be after the next tour. That way we'll have a year."

"A year?"

"Yeah, Nadiehn says any good wedding takes at least a year to plan so I don't know. I'm kinda gonna just let her do what she wants with it." Bill smiled.

"You're a good man."

"Yeah, whatever. I mean, I'll help where I can and everything but Mom explained that it's Nadiehn's day."

"True." Tom nodded.

"So how about you?"

"Me? I'm fine."

"And Tayla?"

"She's fine too." Tom smiled. He knew what Bill was getting at.

"Any wedding bells?"

"No. Not yet. Not anytime soon." Tom laughed softly. "I have a little more baggage than you do." He smiled at Bradyn and playfully shoved him over. "Right, buddy? You're my baggage."

"I a case?" Bradyn giggled as he lay on his side.

"Yeah, you're my suitcase. You're full of all my stuff."

"No, my suff." Bradyn giggled as Tom tickled him.

"You guys are crazy." Bill laughed. "Anyway, I'll let you go."

"Okay, let me know when you get back to Germany and we'll hang out or something."

"You got it. Have fun in LA."

"We will." Tom nodded. "Wanna say bye to Bill?" He asked Bradyn.

"Yeah."

"Hang on, the kid wants to say bye." Tom held the phone out to Bradyn.

"Bye, Pie appo. Affer while cock-a-dial." Bradyn giggled.

"You're crazy, Bradyn."

"Yeah."

"I'll see you later alligator."

"Lato agator." Bradyn covered his mouth as he giggled and handed the phone back to Tom.

"See ya." Tom laughed into the phone as Bill said good-bye. He hung up then looked at Bradyn. "So now what?"

"Ummm-" Bradyn pretended to think for a minute. "I sink we see a ossin."

"We're going to drive by after dinner."

"We have dinner now?"

"Yeah, we can have dinner now. What do you want?"

"Cheese an sammich an carrot an cookies!"

"Wow, all of that?"

"Yeah. I a hungy boy." Bradyn patted his tummy and laughed.

"I'll tell you what, how about if we go out and get some dinner."

"Cheese sammich."

"Right, a grilled cheese sandwich. After that we can drive by and see the ocean. How does that sound?"

"We can see a ossin first?"

"No, after dinner."

Bradyn sighed and shook his head. "Kay."

"Okay, cool. Let's go." He reached out and took Bradyn's hand as they headed out.

----------------

They sat side by side in the narrow booth at the restaurant by the beach and ate their dinner. Bradyn nibbled on his carrots but ate almost half of his sandwich before announcing that he was done. Tom just smiled and offered him some fries from his own meal as he finished. As Tom dipped his fry in ketchup, he wondered if Bradyn would ever get used to eating real, home food when they were finally back in Germany. After living on room service, catered food, fast food or vending machine food for so long he wasn't sure if he would ever get used to real food.

When they were done with their meal Tom left the bill and a large tip on the table and they ducked out around a crowd of rowdy looking college kids. Tom loaded Bradyn up in their car then they headed west to look at the ocean before they went back to the hotel.

"Look!" Bradyn cheered and kicked his feet as Tom pulled up on the curb beside the ocean front walk in Santa Monica. "We go?"

"It's too late to go in the ocean tonight. We have to go when the sun is out." Tom shook his head.

"We can see?"

"We can see it right now, yeah."

"No, we out and see?" Bradyn looked at Tom with a big smile. "Peese?"

Tom looked up and down the almost vacant street. "Sure. We can get out for a few minutes but then we have to go back to the hotel, okay?"

"Kay." Bradyn nodded and tried to undo his buckles.

"Okay." Tom sighed and turned the car off and opened the back door to help Bradyn get out. He carried Bradyn down the sand almost to the waters edge and shivered. "It's cold out here, buddy."

"Ina water?"

"The water is probably freezing right now." Tom shook his head.

"Is code?"

"It's really cold. Like ice."

"Wow, Daddy."

"Yeah." Tom laughed and bounced Bradyn over to his other hip.

"I hava pool an no fiss."

"You have a pool?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded.

"And no fish?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"No fiss ina pool, Daddy. Is for a ossin."

"Oh, yeah. You're right. There are no fish in our pool. They belong in the ocean." Tom nodded. "You're pretty smart."

"Yeah." Bradyn sighed and looked up at Tom. "Is code."

"It's pretty cold here, yeah. Are you ready to go back now?" Tom asked. Bradyn nodded slowly and looked over Tom's shoulder up the coast. "Morrow we ina ossin?"

"I think we can come back tomorrow maybe." Tom nodded. "We'll have to see."

"We see now."

Tom laughed and headed back to the car. "You're right, we can see it now." He said softly. The solidness of Bradyn's warm body against his shoulder and the little arm around his neck made Tom shiver again with happiness. Every now and then Tom would have a moment of emotion around Bradyn and each time he would think to himself that he couldn't believe he had a son. Tom used his free hand to pat Bradyn's back. He moved the little boy closer to kiss his forehead. Bradyn wrapped both arms around Tom's neck and giggled. Tom hugged him tight and never wanted to let Bradyn go. It was times like this when Tom was certain that he was capable of unconditional love.

----------------

When they returned to the hotel a short while later, Bradyn changed into his pajamas and grabbed his herd of stuffed animals from his suitcase. Over the course of the tour, he'd managed to collect a small zoo from all of the adoring fans. He piled them on the floor at the foot of his bed, then sat in the middle and pulled Lello onto his lap. That floppy yellow dog would forever be his favorite.

Tom checked his watch as he kicked his shoes off and sighed. He'd give Astrid one more shot before he gave up on her completely. "Wanna watch a movie?"

Bradyn went to sigh but yawned instead. "Yeah."

"Okay." Tom popped the Elmo movie into the DVD player and handed Bradyn one of his pillows. "Make yourself comfortable. I have to use the phone."

"Kay." Bradyn snuggled up with the pillow that was almost as big as he was and rested his feet on the tummy of the stuffed elephant.

"I'll be right back." Tom took his cell phone and retreated to the attached living room. He shut the bedroom door part way to block out the sound of the movie. He dialed Astrid's home number and tried to keep his temper in check as her voice mail message played through again.

When it beeped in his ear, Tom let out the deep breath he had taken. "This is something like the third message I've left you and I'm not going to leave any more. We went to your house today and you're not there, you're not at work, you're not anywhere you said you would be. So either you call or you don't. You know how to reach me any time of the day or night." He hung up before he could let himself say what he was really feeling. He tucked his phone back into his pocket and went back to the bedroom to finish watching the movie with Bradyn.

"Emo say ooooooh noooooo!" Bradyn giggled.

"He did, huh?" Tom smiled down at Bradyn and was glad that Bradyn didn't have a clue what was going on. He stared at Bradyn for a minute then reached over and rumpled his hair. "I love you, Bray."

"Love too, Daddy." Bradyn sighed and kept his eyes on the video.

Tom smiled with pride. He had all he needed right there and if Astrid was going to throw away her chance to see him that was no longer his problem.

----------------

Before they got to Los Angeles, Tom had talked to several of his local friends to find the most private beaches in the area. They came up with some suggestions of where to go and when so Tom and Bradyn decided to try one out. "Come on, buddy. We're going to the beach."

"Ina ossin?"

"Yeah, we're going to the ocean. Finally." Tom laughed and opened Bradyn's drawer in the dresser against the wall. "I don't think we brought too many sand toys but we can just play in the water and stuff."

"Kay." Bradyn bounced in from the little living room and helped Tom get all of their swim gear in order. "I have a potty."

"Then go." Tom nodded toward the bathroom.

"I can't." He looked down at his drawstring shorts. "Isa tie."

"Oh, yeah." Tom bent to untie the string. He pat Bradyn's tush. "There you go."

"Thanks." Bradyn bolted for the bathroom where Tom heard him lift the lids with a small grunt. They weighed almost as much as he did practically but he'd gotten used to it.

"Daddy?" Bradyn shouted from the bathroom.

"Yeah?"

"We go ina ossin day?"

"Yeah." Tom laughed. "We're going to the ocean."

"No see a Mommy hows?"

"No, we're not going back to your Mommy's house." He got the beach towels from the suitcase and sat them on the bed so he'd have everything ready to go.

"She can see a ossin?"

"If she calls us she can come to the ocean with us." Tom said. "But I don't think she's gonna call." He muttered to himself.

"Daddy?" Bradyn asked a minute later from the bathroom.

"Yeah?"

"We cawin Pie appo and he go?"

"We can't call Bill. He's in Germany." Tom put sunscreen and a few toys in the red backpack along with some snacks to get them through the afternoon.

"Yeah, we cawin Pie appo."

"He can't come with us today. He's far away. It's just gonna be you and me at the beach."

"Ana fiss ana shark?"

"And the fish and the sharks, you bet." Tom smiled. "Did you fall in?"

"No." Bradyn giggled.

"Then what are you doing in there?" Tom set Bradyn's swimsuit on the bed and stood up.

"I go a potty." Bradyn sighed.

"Well, hurry up. We don't want to be late for the beach." Tom laughed at himself as he realized how stupid that sounded. Bradyn didn't know he sounded stupid though so Tom didn't mind. "Come on."

"I done." Bradyn flushed the toilet and ran out into the room with no clothes on.

"You're naked!"

"Yeah." Bradyn giggled and grabbed his swim shorts. "Lesso."

"Let's go, that's right." Tom tugged Bradyn's swim shorts on over his little tanned legs and pulled the T-shirt over Bradyn's head. "Okay, let me go change and we'll be on our way."

"You chain?"

"I have to get my shorts on too." Tom nodded.

Bradyn giggled and shook his head. "You a nut."

"You're a nut." Tom laughed and took his swim shorts into the bathroom to change. He slipped his sandals on over his bare feet and grabbed the towels and the bag before they headed out to the beach.

----------------

They were stopped by a few of fans in the lobby of the hotel so Tom stopped and signed a few autographs for them. The girls snapped off a few pictures with their cameras before Bradyn tugged Tom's hand toward the exit. "Say bye." Bradyn grumbled.

"See you later." Tom smiled and waved as he let Bradyn pull his hand.

"Bye." The girls smiled and bounced up on their toes with excitement as they watched the two guys leave.

"No more fans." Bradyn scowled.

"No more?"

"No." Bradyn shook his head. "We go ina ossin an no fans."

"We have to be nice to the fans." Tom explained softly as they walked out to the car. "You know that. We've just got to say hi sometimes and sign stuff."

"No, I don wan."

"Okay, I'll try not to." Tom smiled. Bradyn had had his fill of fans while on tour in Europe. They couldn't go anywhere without being mobbed and Bradyn had more than one temper tantrum when they were forced to stop and sign stuff as a group. He just didn't understand that his father was famous and that fans were part of life. As their tour went on Tom sent Bradyn with Tayla more and more so he wouldn't have to be bothered with the crowds as much and Bradyn seemed to like that better.

"No fans ina ossin." Bradyn said again.

"Okay." Tom laughed and picked Bradyn up to carry him across the parking lot to their car. He hoped that the beaches he was told to go to would be as quiet and private as his friends had said. He could go for a day without being bothered. They packed all of their gear into the trunk of the car and drove north a bit before heading west to the beaches.

----------------

Tom and Bradyn spent the day at a quiet beach and were not disturbed at all. Very few people even walked by while they were there and, those that did, didn't spend their time looking at the young father and son playing in the sand. At the end of the day Tom loaded everything back up into their rental car and drove back to the hotel, stopping at McDonald's on the way to get dinner. The happy meal rounded out Bradyn's day at the beach and ended the day on a happy note for both of them. As they ate on the floor of the hotel room Tom licked the salt from his lips and frowned as felt at his hip for his cell phone. Panic rushed as his hand met the waist of his shorts, and no phone. Tom jumped up off the floor and went to the beach bag to look for his phone but when he finally found it it was on the nightstand where he'd left it that morning.

He looked at the little screen to see if anyone had called, halfway expecting Astrid's number to show up. Tom bit his lip as he dropped the phone on the bed with a sigh.

There were no missed calls.

----------------

The next morning began their last day in Los Angeles. Tom didn't even bother calling Astrid. She hadn't returned his calls in the three days they had been there and he wasn't going to expect her to be there on the last day. Their flight wasn't until noon so Tom took Bradyn down to have a late breakfast in the hotel restaurant. As much as Bradyn liked room service food, he liked restaurant food even more. Just the atmosphere and the never-ending supply of spoons amused him to no end.

"Daddy, look." Bradyn smiled and held his sticky spoon over the end of the table. It was his third spoon of the meal already and he had a devilish look in his eye.

"If you drop that on the floor, you're not getting another one." Tom warned as he took a bite of his toast. "I mean it."

"Yeah, he have." Bradyn nodded and craned his neck to look for their waiter.

"No." Tom met Bradyn's eye and shook his head. "That's your third one already. If you keep dropping them on purpose, you're going to have to eat with your hands."

"Ecky." Bradyn made a face.

"Yeah, that'd be yucky." Tom reached over and took the spoon from Bradyn's hand. He set it on the table and pointed to Bradyn's eggs. "Eat. We have a long flight ahead of us." Tom yawned at the thought of another sixteen hours in the air and he sat back to finish his coffee.

They finished their breakfast and went back to their room to pack everything up. As Tom went over the room one last time before they had to leave, he debated calling Astrid. "Like it would make a difference now." He grumbled and switched the light off. Astrid had blown it big time and if she actually answered her phone, he wasn't sure if he could stop himself from laying into her.

"We go ona pane an we go ina air an we fye!" Bradyn sang as he danced around the living room with Lello in his hands flying over his head.

"Are you excited about flying again?" Tom asked as he shut the bedroom door and reached for their suitcases.

"Yeah."

"And you know what? When we land, we get to go home. How cool is that?"

"Is cool, Daddy. I have a room and a pool."

"Yeah, we'll go home and see your room and your pool." Tom laughed. "Grab the handle so we can go."

Bradyn grabbed the nylon handle on the smaller suitcase and followed beside Tom as they left the hotel.

For most of the sixteen hour flight, Bradyn colored in his French coloring book and asked Tom to tell him what it said. He didn't speak much French so he made up stories about the characters in he pictures and Bradyn seemed happy. They also watched part of a Disney movie before Bradyn fell asleep.

With Bradyn asleep in the seat beside him, Tom had time to reflect on the week. The anger he felt each time Astrid hadn't answered resurfaced and he tried to rationalize where she could have been or what could have happened. She had been doing so good since she came to visit him in Germany before they left for the tour. It just didn't seem right that she would just not be there when they agreed to it.

By the time they landed, Tom was more worried than angry and he decided to call her work once again as soon as they got to their house. They got a ride home from Tobi who met them at the gate. Tom put Bradyn down in his own bed as soon as they walked in the door.

"Daddy?" Bradyn mumbled as his head hit the pillow.

"Yeah, buddy. We're home."

"I seep?"

"Yeah, it's time to go to sleep." Tom whispered as he pulled Bradyn's little car blanket up to his shoulders and slid Lello under the sheets beside him. He leaned down to kiss Bradyn's forehead. He ducked out of the room and went downstairs to call Astrid's office again.

Tom pulled a soda out of the refrigerator and popped it open as he pulled the phone from the wall charger and dialed her work number. He sat on the back of the couch and listened to it ring. When Astrid's message came on her recorder, Tom hit 3 to be sent to an operator, then waited. "Counterman Lautner. This is Kate. May I help you?"

"Yeah, hi. My name is Tom. I'm looking for Astrid Sawatzke?"

"She's on vacation this week. Is there something I can help you with?"

"No, I, uh- I'm kind of concerned actually. I've been trying to reach her all week. She was supposed to meet with her son this week and now I'm just kinda worried since she didn't return my calls or anything."

"Oh, well she's on vacation this week."

"Right, you said that."

"She went on vacation to Baja, California with a group of girls from here. They won't be back until Saturday, I think."

"Baja, California? Like in Mexico? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." She smiled. "I was supposed to go but I couldn't really afford to fly, you know?"

"She's in Mexico?"

"Yes, they'll be back Saturday." She said again. "I can leave a message to have her call you when she gets in on Monday though if you'd like."

Tom was literally speechless. "I, uh- N- No, that's okay." He licked his lips quickly. "Thanks." He hung up and took a few deep breaths. His blood pressure rose as he continued to fume for a moment. Without waiting to calm down, he dialed Astrid's home number and let the anger brew until her voice mail beeped telling him he could leave a message. "I hope you're having a good time in Mexico. Next time you want to see Bradyn, you can spend your own damn money and fly here. I'm not accommodating you any more. Bradyn and I flew out there and spent four days waiting to hear back from you. We wasted four whole days in LA because you had something better come up. I want you to call me the second you get this message." He left his home and cell numbers, as if she didn't have them, before he hung up and fumed for a few minutes.

Tom forced himself to take five deep breaths while he closed his eyes and tried to focus on something else for a minute. The first thing that came to mind was Tayla. He calmed down slowly before he used speed dial to call her house in Connecticut.

"Hello?" An unfamiliar voice answered a moment later.

"Hi. Is Tayla there please?"

"Yeah, hang on." He heard the phone drop onto something hard. "Tayla! Phone! Make it quick though. Jeremy is supposed to be calling tonight so we can go to a movie."

"Okay, okay." Tayla said as she picked up. "Hello?"

Tom sighed and tried to force a smile. "Hey."

"Hey!" Her mood brightened considerably when she heard his voice. "How'd it go?" Tayla asked as she opened the fridge.

"Is that him?!" Kaelah whispered loudly as her eyes flew open.

Tayla frowned at Kaelah and nodded. "Go away." She whispered back as she took a Coke out and opened it.

"Ugh, don't get me started." Tom ran his hand over his braids and tugged the loose braids gently when he reached the back of his head.

"Why? What happened? Is everything okay?" She asked, turning her back on Kaelah. She walked into the family room and curled up in the recliner with Kaelah following her every step.

"We're fine. I mean, nothing bad happened or anything but Astrid wasn't there."

"What do you mean she wasn't there?"

"I mean, we flew to LA and she wasn't there. I called a dozen times and she wasn't at home or at work so we went by her house and she wasn't there, all week. She never showed up and never called."

"What?" Tayla frowned deeply trying to think of a reason why she might not be there. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, get this. So we got back this afternoon and I called her work to tell them I was worried because she wasn't there and didn't return my calls and guess where she is?"

Tayla's mind drew a blank so she said the first thing that popped up. "Jail?"

Tom laughed bitterly. "No. Much more glamorous than jail but I like your choice."

"Where is she?"

"Oh, she's down in Mexico with some friends from work. Baja to be exact. Yeah, they're down there on vacation. I know that if my son was flying all the way from Germany to see me and I hadn't seen him in a few months, I'd definitely take off for Baja, wouldn't you?" Bitter sarcasm poured from his lips as he spoke.

"Are you serious?"

"Completely."

"She's in Mexico?"

"Yeah." Tom sighed, trying not to get angry all over again.

"What- I, uh- Wow. Well, maybe she forgot it was this week?"

"Yeah, I can see that. I mean, I've only told her for the last six weeks or so that we'd be in LA for four days this week. I can see how me giving her the exact dates we'd be there may have confused her. You're right, I must have been crazy." His sarcasm stung.

"Tom, don't get mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you but when I call you to vent, I don't expect you to take her side."

"I'm not taking her side. I'm trying to think of what might have happened."

"I know what happened, Tayla. She chose a vacation with her friends over Bradyn." Tom snapped at her again but this time she remained silent on her end of the line. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm taking this out on you. I'm just pissed off."

"I know you are."

"It's just, it makes me so mad that she would do this. I mean, before I would have expected this but she's been doing really well for the last few months. This is just- It's really annoying."

"I know it is." Tayla nodded. "How's Bradyn?"

"He's fine." Tom nodded with a small sigh. "I don't even think he noticed that she wasn't there."

"Well, that's good."

"Yeah but it doesn't change the fact that she's a complete flake." Tom sighed. "I left her another message at home but the people at her work said they wouldn't be back until this weekend so we'll see if she calls."

"That should be interesting."

"I'll have had a few days to calm down."

"Thank goodness." Tayla smiled slowly.

Tom sighed and shook his head again. "I should have just taken my rights and ran when I had the chance, huh?"

Tayla grinned, knowing he didn't really mean it. "You still can, you know."

"I know, I know." Tom sighed. He knew that no matter how mad Astrid made him, he just couldn't see taking Bradyn away from her forever. He just didn't have it in him. "I should get going though. I'm exhausted."

"Okay."

"I'll call you tomorrow when I'm more awake and stuff." Tom said softly as he tugged on his lower lip.

"I'll be here." Tayla smiled, twirling her hair around her finger. That was a new habit of hers and she didn't know where she had picked it up. "Love you."

"Love you too." Tom closed his eyes and smiled, pretending she was there. "Bye." He said softly before he hung up and headed upstairs to go to sleep in his own bed for the first time in more than two months.

He peeked into Bradyn's room as he walked by and wondered to himself how Bradyn would feel when he woke up and his daddy wasn't five feet away in the same room. Tom smiled slowly and laughed, knowing he'd have a hard time falling asleep without the sound of Bradyn's snoring close by. For a minute, Tom considered bringing Bradyn into the master bedroom with him but in the end, he simply yawned and went to his room alone. A good night's sleep was just what he needed.

----------------

The next morning, a very awake and bouncy Bradyn woke Tom up just before eight in the morning. "It's too early, buddy." Tom grumbled as he tried to pull his pillow over his head.

"I hava pool." Bradyn said softly as he lifted the corner of Tom's pillow and smiled down at his father with his hair sticking up at a dozen angles.

"You have bed head."

"No, you." Bradyn giggled.

"I have braids. I can't have bed head." Tom tossed the pillow off the side of the bed and stretched his arms over his head. "We've gotta get back on Germany time."

"Yeah."

"Yeah." Tom yawned. "Okay, so we're up. Do you want to watch cartoons?" He reached for the remote and clicked the TV on.

"Wanna pankay."

"Pancakes? I don't know if we have stuff for pancakes. I don't think Kitsune stocked up." Tom sat up against the headboard and pulled Bradyn onto his lap. "Should we go downstairs and see what we have?"

"Pankays?"

"We'll see." Tom nodded. "Okay, lead the way."

Bradyn jumped off the bed and padded down the hall with one sock on and one bare foot. Tom followed behind him and held his hand as they walked down the steps. "Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"I like my hows."

Tom chuckled softly and ran his hand over Bradyn's head to smooth down his unruly hair. "I like our house too."

Bradyn's single bare foot slapped the tile floor as he walked into the kitchen and pulled the pantry door open. "Uh oh."

"Uh oh? What's up?"

"We have no pankays."

"Pancakes aren't in the pantry."

"No." Bradyn shook his head and looked up at Tom. "I hava pa-corn?" He reached for a bag of microwaveable popcorn.

"Not for breakfast." Tom shook his head and put it back. "Let me see if we have the stuff for pancakes and if not, we can find something else."

"Have pa-corn lato?"

"Maybe later." Tom nodded and shut the pantry door. The refrigerator proved to be almost empty with nothing he would need to make pancakes. The freezer had two boxes of chocolate chip waffles though so he popped four into the toaster and made up some apple juice from frozen concentrate. "We have to go shopping so we have some food in here."

"Yeah." Bradyn rested his chin in his hand as he sat at the table and waited patiently for his breakfast.

They sat together and ate the waffles with a little bit of peanut butter on them while they sipped apple juice and tried to wake up enough to focus clearly. As Tom finished his last bite, he went to the answering machine on the little desk and winced. The number 34 flashed on the little red display.

Tom hit play and grabbed a pen as he sat on the desk to take notes. More than half of them were hang up calls or wrong numbers and most of the rest were just friends checking in. Tom made notes and planned to call them all back over the weekend to let them know he was back in town and staying for a while. When he got down to the messages that were left during the week he was in LA, he anxiously waited to hear Astrid's voice leaving an explanation but there was no call.

The last message on the tape was from David and made Tom's morning. "Hey, Tom. It's David. Steven Tyler called this week and I know you're in LA, but you said you wanted to be in on any collaboration talk. He wants to work out a time to come out and work with you guys on the new stuff. He'll be in town next Tuesday to talk with Benjamin about this so I'm sure they'll give you a call then. Say hi to Bradyn for me." The message ended and Tom's smile grew. Working with Aerosmith would be a dream come true for him and he couldn't wait to get the call. He didn't care what song they did, just working with them would be amazing.

"He say hi for me?" Bradyn asked as he walked up with a smear of peanut butter on his upper lip.

"Yeah, that was David. He said to tell you hi." Tom leaned over and wiped it off.

"We cawin Dabid?"

"No, we're not going to call David right now. It's too early but next time we see him, you can go say hi."

"Daddy, maybe he caw?"

"Maybe he'll call us, yeah. Then you can say hi."

"Kay." Bradyn nodded and walked over to his basket of toys by the TV.

"You know what?"

"Yeah." Bradyn said without looking up from his collection of toys.

Tom smiled. Bradyn always said yeah when he asked that. "I am so glad to be home." He collapsed on the couch behind Bradyn and smiled up at the ceiling. "We can sleep in as late as we want and eat whenever we want and lay on the couch all day."

"Ina pool an pay." Bradyn nodded.

"We can go in the pool as long as we heat the water first and we can play on your play set. This is the life, Bradyn." He put his hands behind his head and sighed. "You have no idea how good you have it." He added softly.

"Yeah." Bradyn laughed and pulled his toys out to play on the floor.

"Yeah." Tom whispered as he closed his eyes and smiled with content. He never wanted to leave his house again.

----------------

Tom and Bradyn spent the weekend hanging around the house by themselves. They played in the pool and on the play set. They even reorganized Bradyn's bedroom so that the bed was closer to the door and the dresser was under the window. Bradyn had a great time helping move the bed and other furniture while Tom's body ached from all the moving.

Every time the phone rang Tom's heart jumped, thinking it would be Astrid but it never was. He knew she was returning on Saturday so he gave her a day to get in and check her messages but, when Tuesday morning rolled around and she still hadn't called, he was getting upset. Tayla was quiet about it. She never brought Astrid up or talked about her unless Tom said something first, which he rarely did.

On Tuesday, Tom all but forgot about Astrid calling and waited instead for Benjamin to call. They played in the pool for a few hours then stopped for a quick lunch outside. "We can see Pie appo?" Bradyn asked out of the blue.

"You want to see Bill?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." Tom nodded. "We'll give him a call a little later. Maybe we can go see him tomorrow."

"Kay." Bradyn took a bite of his sandwich and looked at Tom thoughtfully. "An he go ina pool?"

"Maybe." Tom smiled. "When we call him later we can see if he wants to go in the pool."

"Kay." Bradyn nodded and swallowed his bite. He yawned loudly then looked up at Tom with tired eyes.

"You're tired." Tom seat his sandwich down and leaned back in his chair. "I think you need a nap."

"Yeah."

"Okay. Finish your orange and we'll go up and lay down."

"Daddy, hava nap?"

"Maybe." Tom nodded. He was feeling tired too. A nap might do him good.

"Kay." Bradyn sighed and took another bite of his orange slice. He wiped his mouth on his bare arm. He meticulously stacked his little slivers of orange peel beside his napkin with the rest of his sandwich and slid off the chair. "Kay, we go."

Tom laughed and followed Bradyn into the house and up the stairs. He was always surprised how sometimes it was all Tom could do to make Bradyn lay down for an hour and other times he was willing, if not happy, to take a nap.

With Bradyn settled in his bed for his nap, Tom went back downstairs to pick up their lunch mess. As he stepped out into the surprisingly warm weather, he forgot all about the mess and sat on one of his padded chaise lounges. He leaned back and kicked his feet up. He let his eyes drift closed as the sun warmed his face.

It wasn't long until a sound from inside the house tore through his half-sleep. The phone was ringing and he had forgotten to bring it out with him. Tom jumped off the chair then ran into the house to catch the phone before it went to his voice mail. "Hello?" He asked breathlessly.

"Hi, Tom?" Astrid asked.

"Astrid?"

"Yeah. Hey, I got your messages. I totally-"

"Forgot?" Tom snapped.

"No. Tom, I didn't forget. I just- I thought it was this week."

"Don't give me that."

"I have it on my calendar that you guys were coming out this week. Monday through Thursday."

"It's Tuesday."

"I know." Astrid sighed.

"And you're just now calling? You've been home for three days and now you decide to call?"

"I've been unpacking and stuff. I brought back so much stuff from Mexico. I don't know where to put half of it." She laughed softly.

Tom bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from telling her exactly where she could put it. "So?"

"So, I, uh- I was hoping I could see Bradyn."

"When will you be here?"

"I just got back from Mexico, Tom. I can't just pick up and fly to Germany."

"Okay, so what are you proposing?"

"I was thinking you guys could come back here. I mean, I know you have fun out here and everything. You always have work or whatever out here."

Tom laughed bitterly. "We just spent almost a week there doing nothing but waiting for you to call back. I'm not flying out there again."

"It's not like you can't afford it."

"That's not the point." Tom sighed. He couldn't believe she actually had the nerve to suggest them coming out again. "The point is that we were there to visit you and you weren't there like we planned. I'm not taking him to LA again. If you want to see him, you can come to Germany. I'm not putting myself out any more than I have to to try to accommodate you, Astrid."

"Accommodate me? Pardon me but I believe you volunteered to bring Bradyn here."

"Yeah, I did. So that you wouldn't have to spend any of your own money to fly here again. I was under the impression that you were hard up for cash but, seeing as how you just spent a week in Mexico and brought home enough souvenirs and gifts to fill a suitcase, I no longer have that kind of sympathy."

"Well, I can't afford to go there right now."

"Then I guess whenever you get the money to fly out, that's when you'll be able to see Bradyn." Tom shrugged. That was perfectly fine with him. He was in no hurry to see her.

"Tom." She sighed.

"Yes?"

"I got the dates wrong, okay? It was a mistake. An honest mistake. Don't hold that against me."

"I'm not holding it against you. We were just out there and I don't feel like dragging him over an ocean and across the country again any time soon. If you want to see him, you'll have to come here."

"I can't afford it." She repeated slowly.

"I don't know what you want me to do about that."

She sighed into the phone. "So that's it? I can't see him?"

"No, I didn't say that. I said you could see him whenever you wanted to. You just have to do it here."

"Tom, I can't afford to fly out to Germany at a moment's notice."

"Like I said, I don't know what you want me to do about that. I'm not flying to California and I'm not paying for you to fly out here. You chose to blow your money on a trip to Mexico." Tom shrugged.

"Can I even talk to him?"

"Sure. He's asleep right now though. Maybe you can call back later." Tom clenched his teeth.

"He's asleep?"

"Yes, he's taking a nap."

"What time does he get up?"

"Probably around three."

"So I can call at three?"

"You can try, sure. I don't know if we'll be here or not though."

"Oh, come on." She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Is that how you're going to be now?"

"What? I said I didn't now if we'd be here. Sometimes we go up to the park or out by the pool. I'm not the vindictive player here, Astrid. That part is all yours." Tom knew that each little jab he took at her stung but he didn't really care. There weren't enough words to make her feel his true anger.

Astrid bit her tongue and took a deep breath. "Well, since I can't see him and you don't know if you'll be home this afternoon, do you think we can set up a calling schedule or something? So that we can both plan on being by a phone?"

"You think you can follow one?"

"Yes." Astrid said through tight lips. "I'd like to talk to my son, if that's okay with you, a few times a week."

Tom rolled his eyes and sighed. A few times a week? He couldn't imagine going more than a day without seeing Bradyn, never mind not talking to him. Since the day he'd fallen into Tom's life, they had never spent more than a few hours apart. "Sure, when do you want to call?"

"I'd like to call tonight. Then maybe every Tuesday night and Saturday morning?"

"Okay." Tom walked over to the little desk where a calendar was pinned to the wall. He flipped it forward to the correct month and grabbed a pen. "What time?"

"Well, on Tuesdays I'm usually home by five, so let's say five thirty?"

"That's 2:30 in the morning our time. He'll be in bed." Tom said.

"So when should I call?"

"You can call on your lunch break at noon. It'll be past his bedtime but, if he's up, you can talk to him."

"And Saturdays why don't I call around nine or ten your time?"

"That would be 1 in the morning your time. You sure you wanna call then?" Tom asked as he wrote the times in the little boxes on the calendar.

"Um, yeah, I guess."

"Okay." Tom nodded.

"I'm sorry I missed you guys."

"Yeah, me too." He dropped the pen on the desk. "So are these times for this week? Or are you going to try to do this every week?"

"I'll call at those times every week. At least until I get some money to fly. That probably won't be until after Halloween though."

"Okay." Tom nodded. "I'll let Bradyn know. I know he'll be excited since he didn't get to see you last week." He played up Bradyn's feelings a bit. The truth was that Bradyn didn't seen phased by the fact that his Mom hadn't shown up. Tom sat at the table by the windows and picked up the little sugar bowl left out from breakfast. He stirred the sugar and sighed as some spilled over the edges. "So you're going to call back tonight then?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." Tom stuck his finger in the spilled sugar and licked it off. "I'll talk to you then."

Astrid paused. She wasn't expecting such an abrupt end to the conversation. "Bye."

Tom didn't respond he just clicked his phone off and dropped it on the table. With a deep frown he pursed his lips and thought about going out for the night so they wouldn't be there when she called. If she called.

----------------

Tom decided against going out as he picked up the phone to call Tayla. She was always the calming and rational voice he needed to hear. "Hello?" She answered with what sounded like a yawn.

"Were you sleeping?"

"Hmm?" She yawned loudly then laughed. "Yeah. You woke me up."

"What time is it there?"

"Seven something." She smiled. "What's up?"

"I just got off the phone with Astrid. She wants to set up a calling schedule so she can talk to Bradyn twice a week." Tom said softly as he drew circles in the spilled sugar.

"Wait, what'd she say?"

"She'll call every Tuesday night and Saturday morning."

"No, I mean about last week."

"She said she thought it was this week instead and she just forgot." He frowned quickly but sighed. "I don't know. She's probably lying but what am I going to do? From now on if she wants to see Bradyn she's going to have to come out here. I'm not wasting my time and money to fly out to see her."

"Well, that's good." Tayla nodded. "Did she even apologize though?"

"Yeah, kinda. She was sorry she missed us but whatever. She'll be calling twice a week now so that's a step in the right direction."

Tayla scowled. "Yeah, I suppose. I just hope she can do that. She doesn't seem like the most responsible person out there."

"She's trying."

"Don't even go there, Tom." Tayla smiled bitterly and shook her head.

Bradyn groggily walked into the room and crawled up on the chair next to Tom. "Hi." He mumbled.

"Hey, buddy." Tom said softly.

"Is that Bradyn?"

"Yeah, he's up. Do you want to say hi?" Tom asked.

"Sure."

Tom held the phone out to Bradyn. "Hey, Tayla's on the phone. Do you want to say hi?"

"My Tayla?"

"Yeah." Tom handed the phone to Bradyn.

"Hi, Tayla." Bradyn yawned.

"Hi, Bradyn. Are you sleepy?"

"No, I a nap."

"You had a nap?"

"Yeah."

"Cool." Tayla laughed. "Did you have fun in Los Angeles? Your Daddy said you went to the beach."

"Yeah, we see a ossin ana pool."

"That sounds like fun."

"We see a toto ona wall but no see Mommy."

"You saw a toto?"

"Ona wall." Bradyn nodded.

"But you didn't see your Mommy?"

"No ona phone an no ina hows."

"Oh." Tayla nodded as she deciphered his toddler language.

"Tayla, you see?"

"You want me to come see you?"

"See a ossin."

"Oh, no, I can't see an ocean."

"Yeah."

"What?"

"See me ana ossin."

"Oh, you want me to come see you and take you to see the ocean?" She asked with a smile.

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'll have to talk to your Daddy about that."

"Kay, bye." Bradyn handed the phone back to Tom and took off for his basket of toys.

"Hi." Tom laughed into the phone as he held it up to his ear. "See what I mean? He's a talking machine."

"You saw a toto?"

"A turtle. There was a sea life mural on the side of a building and he thought it was the coolest thing ever."

"Okay. I couldn't understand what he was trying to say."

"We're working on that." Tom laughed as he leaned to look out the windows to the backyard. "But hey, I have to run to the bank to transfer some money over so I'll give you a call later, okay?"

"You can transfer money online you know."

"I know but I haven't set that stuff up yet so I have to go do it before the bank closes at three thirty."

"Your bank closes at three thirty?"

"I don't make the hours." Tom laughed.

"Germany is weird man. Thank God I don't live there." She laughed. "Call me later so we can talk."

"I will." Tom nodded. "Love you."

"I love you too." She said softly so that her roommate wouldn't hear her.

"Bye." He smiled as he hung up the phone. "Okay, Bray. I'm gonna run upstairs and get my stuff, then we're out of here, okay?"

"Kay." Bradyn climbed up onto the couch with his Elmo doll and a thick cardboard book.

"Cool." Tom left Bradyn along and ran upstairs to where he kept his bankbook. He got the transfer slip he needed and hopped back down the stairs to get Bradyn and go. "Hey, Bradyn, are you about ready to-" He stopped mid-sentence and looked at his son. "Bray?"

"Hi, Daddy." Bradyn giggled as he bounced on the couch, fully naked.

"Where are your clothes?"

"I doe have." Bradyn stopped bouncing to shrug.

"You had clothes when I went upstairs. Where'd they go?"

"Is off."

"I see that." Tom walked into the living room to find Bradyn's clothes strewn across the coffee table. "So, uh- So what's the deal here? You just don't want to wear these?"

"No." Bradyn shook his head then started bouncing again.

"Well, what do you want to wear?"

"Nassing."

"You have to wear clothes, buddy."

"I doe have." Bradyn sighed and jumped off the couch. "Daddy, you have."

"I'm wearing clothes." Tom looked down at his jeans and T-shirt. "Come on, put these clothes back on so we can get going."

"I doe wan."

"We have to go, buddy. I have to go to the bank and then to Gustav's real quick." Tom reached for Bradyn's pants and held them out to him. "So come on, let's go."

"No, Daddy. No cose."

"Yeah, you have to wear clothes."

"My simmin cose."

"You can't wear your swim shorts. They're still wet." Tom shook his head.

"Yeah."

"No, can't do it." Tom handed him the jeans.

"You go."

"I'm gonna go but you have to come with me."

"No, I say."

"You can't stay." Tom sighed and reached for Bradyn's arm. "Just put the pants on and we can go."

"My sim pants?" Bradyn asked as he ran toward the stairs.

"You have dimples on your butt." Tom laughed. "Just toss these pants on. We're only going to be gone for like, a half hour. When we get home you can take them off again."

"I doe like." Bradyn frowned and sat on the bottom step.

"You love these pants. Now come on. The bank is going to close and I have to do this today. Put these on."

"No." Bradyn's giggly mood turned foul as he stuck his lower lip out and crossed his arms over his bare chest.

"We're not doing this power play today, Bradyn." Tom raised his eyebrow at the little boy. "Put the pants on right now or I'll take you to the bank naked." Bradyn turned his head to look at his Dad and stuck his little pink tongue out at him. "Okay, if that's how you want to do it." Tom dropped the jeans on the stairs and picked Bradyn up off the step, completely naked.

"No!" Bradyn screamed as he realized Tom was headed for the car. "No, Daddy! My simmin pants!"

"No, you had your chance." Tom threw open the car door, brushed the crumbs off the car seat then placed Bradyn in it. "You're going naked."

"I have deans?"

"It's too late. Your jeans are inside now." He climbed in the driver's seat and opened the garage as he started the car. "You should have just put them on when I asked you to."

"Daddy, I have no cose!"

"I know you don't." Tom watched over his shoulder as he backed out of the driveway slowly.

"Daddy!" Bradyn screamed with a deep-set frown.

"Hey! Don't shout in the car."

"I have no cose." Bradyn said in a normal voice.

"I know. You didn't want to put them on."

"Yeah."

"No, you didn't."

"I have now?"

"No, we don't have clothes in the car. Sorry." Tom pulled out onto the main road and headed for the bank.

"Is code."

"It's not cold."

"I code wiss no pants."

"It's not cold outside, Bradyn. I don't know how you're cold."

"No, Daddy. I have pants."

"We don't have pants."

"Yeah!" Bradyn shouted as he kicked Tom's seat.

"Hey! I told you not to shout and you know you're not allowed to kick. Knock it off."

"No." Bradyn pouted as he adjusted his tiny bare butt in his seat.

"You're the one who decided to go naked. I offered you some jeans to wear and you didn't want to wear them."

"I wan."

"It's too late now." Tom shook his head.

Bradyn cried and fussed a little more on the way to the bank but was curiously quiet while Tom pulled up to the drive-through teller. Tom filled out the transfer form and zipped it over to the woman behind the glass. He signed the slip when it came back. They were done before he knew it and he headed for Gustav's house.

"We go home?"

"We're going to Gustav's house for a minute."

"No."

"Yes."

"No." Bradyn began to cry again. "I no wan see Goose-gog."

"Then you can wait in the car." Tom sighed and turned onto the freeway then carefully merged into the slow lane.

They drove to Gustav's house and pulled into the driveway. "Are you coming in or are you waiting in the car?"

"I say." Bradyn grumbled.

"Okay." Tom lowered the back windows before he jumped out of the car and walked up to the front door only a few feet away. He knocked and looked up at the clear sky as he waited for Gustav.

"Hey, what's up?" Gustav smiled when he opened the door.

"Not a lot. I came by to see if you had that stuff."

"That stuff?"

"Remember when we finished the tour and I couldn't fit my stuff into my bag so you took one of my bags of souvenirs or whatever?"

"I did?"

"Yeah." Tom smiled. "Kids shirts, a few magnets and a sweater or two?"

"Those are yours? Damn, I was wondering when I bought all that shit." Gustav laughed.

"Yeah, they're are mine. Thanks for bringing them."

"No problem. You wanna come in?"

"No, I have to get going."

"Okay." Gustav left the door open as he ran up his stairs to get the bag. Tom heard him swearing out loud upstairs and a few doors slamming shut before Gustav appeared again with the duffel bag in his hand. "This?"

"Yeah." Tom took the bag and hoisted it onto his shoulder. "I didn't remember you had it until I went looking for this stuff last night."

"I could have kept it all." Gustav shook his head. "Where's Bradyn?" He asked as he leaned out the front door.

"He's in the car."

"Well, bring him in."

"No, I can't stay." Tom shook his head. "And he's not wearing any clothes."

"You let him leave the house in his underwear?" Gustav gave Tom a look and stepped all the way outside.

"No, he's naked." Tom smiled slowly.

"What the hell are you talking about? Why'd you make him come over here naked? You're the meanest Dad ever!" Gustav smiled as he hopped down the stairs and walked up to Tom's car.

"I told him to get dressed and he wouldn't." Tom shrugged. "I had to get to the bank before it closed so-"

"You took him to the bank naked? That's bordering on child abuse." Gustav shook his head and managed to suppress a laugh as he pictured them walking into the bank together.

"We went through the drive thru." Tom explained. "He had his chance to get dressed and he gave me attitude then stuck his tongue out at me so he went as is."

"Seriously?"

"He doesn't have a stitch of clothing on him." Tom shook his head and opened the car door. He tossed the duffel bag on the floor at Bradyn's feet and stepped back.

"Hi, Goose-gog." Bradyn pouted from his seat.

"Hi, Bradyn. What's up?" Gustav smiled and reached in to mess his hair.

"I have no cose." Bradyn said as he sniffed and wiped at his eyes.

"I see that. Where'd they go?"

"Isat my hows."

"At your house?"

"Yeah."

"Well, how come you're not wearing them?" Gustav tried not to laugh.

"I doe no." Bradyn's bottom lip stuck out as he continued to pout.

"That's okay. You know sometimes I cruise around naked too."

"Ina bank?"

"No." Gustav laughed. "No, I don't go to the bank naked. I'd get arrested but, you know, at home and stuff."

"Shut up, Gustav." Tom shook his head.

"I'm just trying to make him feel better."

"Well, you're making me sick to my stomach." Tom laughed. "Are you ready to go home and get some clothes on?" Tom leaned over Gustav's shoulder to talk to Bradyn.

"Yeah." Bradyn pouted.

"Okay. Say bye to Gustav."

"Bye, Goose-gog."

"See ya later, Bradyn." Gustav laughed and took a few steps away from the car.

"I'll call you later." Tom laughed and pulled the driver's side door open.

"Okay. And get some clothes on your kid."

"I will."

"You going to Georg's thing on Saturday?"

"Yeah, what's it for again? Is it someone's birthday?"

"I don't think so." Gustav shook his head. "He's spent the last week having some dude over to do this built in barbecue thing so I think he just wants to fire it up or something. I don't know. I'm bringing the meat though."

"I'll bring the buns." Tom motioned to Bradyn's naked body and the two older men laughed. "Seriously though, do we need to bring stuff?"

"You wanna rely on Georg to have food?"

"True. Okay, yeah. Then I'll see you there Saturday."

"With clothes on the kid." Gustav laughed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, he'll have clothes on." Tom laughed and started the car Bradyn sulked in the back seat with his arms crossed over his chest. Gustav turned and trotted back into his house as Tom backed down the driveway and out to the street.

"Daddy?" Bradyn sighed. "We go home?"

"Yeah. We're going home now." Tom smiled in the rear view mirror as Bradyn looked out the side window with his bottom lip still poking out. He couldn't believe he'd taken Bradyn out naked but he also knew that they wouldn't have that argument again any time soon.

Tom smiled proudly as he focused on the road ahead of him. As impossible as he thought it was, every day he felt more and more like a father and less like a guy playing house.

----------------

Astrid called that night as promised and Bradyn talked to her for about ten minutes. Mostly he just babbled about the ocean and riding in a plane and kept trying to hand the phone back to Tom. "No, buddy. You need to talk to your Mom."

"Is done."

"You're done?" Tom took the phone and held it to his ear. "You're done?"

"No, I'm not." Astrid said quickly.

"Oh, sorry. Bradyn handed the phone back and said you guys were done." Tom reached for Bradyn's shoulder and pulled him back to the phone. "She's not done yet. Talk to your Mom." He held the phone to Bradyn's ear as the little boy sighed.

"Hi, Mommy." Bradyn licked his lips and held the phone with both hands as he stayed quiet and nodded at whatever it was Astrid was saying. "Bye, Mommy." He giggled and handed the phone back to Tom. "I say a bye."

"I heard that." Tom smiled and cradled the phone between his ear and shoulder. "So on Saturday do-" Tom stopped as he realized he was talking to dead air. "Well, I guess she's done then." He sighed and bounced Bradyn on his knee. "Okay, its time for bed."

"And you?"

"I have some work to do in the office but after that I'll go to bed too."

"I wok?"

"No, you don't have to work. You get to go to bed right now." Tom stood up and carried Bradyn up stairs to his bright room. "Which story do you want to read tonight?" He asked as he set the little barefoot boy on the floor.

Bradyn bolted to his bed and flung himself under the covers before leaning over the side to find his favorite book. "I sink diss." He held up his Lion King book and smiled as Tom sat on the bed beside him.

"This is a good one." Tom said softly.

"Yeah, is Simba."

"Yeah. Simba is cool, huh? And Nala and Scar."

"Ana poobah pig."

"And Pumba the pig. Actually, he's a warthog but that's okay."

"Kay." Bradyn sighed and fluffed the pillow behind his head. "Go now."

"Go?"

"Ina book."

"Okay." Tom laughed lightly and turned the page to the front of the book. He read the short story using the now familiar voices. They said their nightly prayers before Tom turned the light off. "G'night, buddy."

"Nigh-nigh." Bradyn yawned and smiled as Tom pulled the door shut halfway. He stood in the hall and listened for a few seconds before he headed to the office to get some work done before he too went to bed.

----------------

The next morning, Tom woke up before Bradyn and took advantage of the quiet time by taking a long shower. He stood at the mirror in his towel after his shower and shaved carefully. It'd been a while since he'd had more than a few seconds to shave so he always managed to have little missed spots or he'd completely blow off shaving altogether and go for the rugged look.

"Hi." A little voice by Tom's thigh startled him and he dropped the razor into the water filled sink.

"Hey, you scared me." Tom smiled down at Bradyn. He scooped him up and set him on the counter by the sink. "What's up tough guy?"

"I go potty."

"You have to go potty?" Tom fished the razor out of the cloudy water to finish shaving.

"I go."

"You went?"

"Yeah."

"All by yourself?" Tom raised his eyebrow at Bradyn and smiled as he drew the razor over his left cheek.

"Yeah." Bradyn giggled but yawned halfway through. "Daddy?"

"Hmm?" He shaved his upper lip as he tilted his head back.

"See Toke Hoh-tell sing?"

"What?" Tom rinsed the razor in the water and frowned at Bradyn.

"See Toke Hoh-tell sing?" Bradyn repeated.

"Tokio Hotel?"

"Yeah."

"You want to see Tokio Hotel sing?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." Tom laughed. "I have a DVD around here somewhere. We'll have to watch that later."

"And Pie appo?"

"Bill is in it, yeah."

"Kay." Bradyn sighed and watched as Tom finished shaving and wiped in face on the towel by the sink.

"Are you hungry?"

"Yeah. You?"

"I'm hungry, yeah." Tom lifted Bradyn off the counter and set him on the floor. "Let me get some shorts on and we'll go make some breakfast, okay?"

"Kay." Bradyn toddled out to the bedroom with his pajama bottoms sagging around his butt. Tom laughed at the little boy. He pulled a pair of boxers on and lead Bradyn towards the stairs.

"So what are you in the mood for? What sounds good?"

"Ummm." Bradyn paused thoughtfully as they got to the bottom of the stairs. "Noodo and cheese?"

"Noodles and cheese? I don't think so." Tom laughed.

"Why?"

"That's not breakfast food. Maybe we can have macaroni and cheese for dinner tonight." Tom opened the pantry to make sure they had a box. "How about cereal? Do you want some Cheerios?"

"No."

"How about Lucky Charms? That's the one with marshmallows."

"We have pankays?"

Tom frowned. He didn't feel much like actually making breakfast. "How about toast?"

"No, pankays."

"I don't think we have pancake mix." He lied. "Oh hey, what about waffles? We've got some frozen waffles I think." He opened the freezer and smiled. "Yeah, here we go."

"Is like pankays?"

"Yeah, it's kinda like pancakes. You've had waffles before. You love them."

"Kay." Bradyn shrugged and pulled himself into his chair with his booster seat.

"Cool." Tom pulled four waffles out of the box and dropped them into the ever-present toaster. He brought out the syrup and powdered sugar and set them on the table. He poured milk for both of them and put the toasted waffles on plates before he carried them to the table. "That was quick, huh?"

"Yeah." Bradyn giggled as Tom leaned over his and cut his breakfast into bite sized pieces before dribbling maple syrup over each piece.

"Yum." Tom yawned and sat beside Bradyn at the table. He poured powdered sugar on his own breakfast as he looked out into the dew-covered backyard. As a slow smile spread across his face he looked at Bradyn. "Hey-"

"Hey?" Bradyn dribbled syrup on his chin and tried to lick it off.

"How would you like to go get a dog?" Tom asked slowly as he cut his waffle along the row of squares.

"Dog?" The little boy dropped his fork on his plate and looked up at his dad. "Chase?"

"Yeah, like Chase kind of. Maybe a different breed but a dog, yeah."

"Is my?"

"Yeah, it would be yours. Yours and mine."

"Isa bown dog?"

"I think we can find a brown dog, sure." Tom smiled.

"We go now?" Bradyn slid off his chair and smiled up at Tom.

"No, you need to eat all of your breakfast first and then we can go." Tom took another bite of his waffles, then stood and put Bradyn back on his seat. He got the phone from the wall and sat back down to dial Bill's number.

"Hello?" Bill's voice always made Tom smile.

"Hey, how's it going?"

"Good." Bill smiled. "What's up?"

"Well, Bradyn and I are going to go get a dog today and I was just calling to find out where you got Chase and Jayda."

"You're getting a dog?" Bill laughed. "Awesome, it's about time you got that kid a puppy."

"Yeah, well now that we'll be home for a while I figured it was a good time to think about it."

"Awesome. Well, I got Chase from a breeder in the US but we got Jayda at the shelter." Bill explained. "I'd go to the shelter first and see what they have there."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You may not get a puppy but getting one that's two or three might be a better idea anyway. Puppies tend to chew the shit outta everything and if they're a little older they'll be out of that stage."

"Yeah but I don't want one that's too old."

"Two isn't old." Bill shook his head. "And chances are, at that age they're house trained and all that. We got Jayda when she was almost four and she was perfect. She was trained to go outside, she didn't go nuts in the house or anything like that. With a puppy you have to clean up little messes all over the house and it may be too rough with Bradyn."

"So, alright, which shelter did you go to?"

"Franziskustierheim over on Lokstedter Grenzstraße. It's like, fifty bucks or whatever but the dogs are fixed already and have all their shots."

"I'm not worried about the cost."

"Yeah but still." Bill shrugged. "That's where I'd go."

"Great, we'll swing by there after breakfast."

"Cool, let me know what you guys get."

"I will."

"And get a female."

"A female?"

"Yeah. Trust me on that. They're more calm and quiet. I mean, it all depends on the dog but females are usually more mellow. That'd be good to have a mellow dog with the kid."

"Okay. Thanks, Bill."

"No problem." Bill stifled a yawn. "Gimme a call a little later."

"Okay, bye." Tom smiled and set the phone down. "We're gonna go get a dog today." He made a face at Bradyn and they both erupted with laughter.

"Yay!" Bradyn threw his hands up in the air and did a wiggle dance in his seat.

----------------

Tom and Bradyn finished their breakfast and went upstairs to get clean up and get dressed before they climbed into the car and headed for the shelter. "Are you excited, buddy?" Tom asked as they pulled into the small parking lot thirty minutes later.

"Yeah." Bradyn laughed from his car seat behind Tom. "We hava bown dog?"

"Yeah, we'll look for a brown dog. But you know, we might not get one from here today. We might have to wait a little while." Tom didn't want him to get his hopes up but he could tell from the look in Bradyn's eye that his hopes were already set on bringing a dog home with them.

"No, Daddy. We have day." Bradyn insisted.

Tom smiled and shook his head. He really hoped they'd find one that day. He got Bradyn out of the backseat and carried him into the brightly lit office. There was a small crowd of people inside, some with cat boxes and others standing in line with paperwork in their hands. Tom and Bradyn stood off to the side for a minute before he spotted a young lady at the information counter on the far wall.

They crossed the room and stopped in front of the counter. "Excuse me. Hi. I, uh- We're here to see some dogs." Tom said as he leaned on the wood paneled counter. He was very aware of the eyes that followed him around the small room and he tried to keep his voice low.

The young lady behind the counter looked up at him and opened and closed her mouth several times without making a sound. "Th-The dogs?" She managed.

"Yeah. I want to adopt a dog but I'm not sure who I need to speak with."

"Okay." She tucked her hair behind her ear and fumbled around under the desk. "Just a moment, please." She ducked down then came back up with a paper in her hand. "Okay, you, uh-" She set the paper in front of him and drew a circle on it. "Go through that door and to the right of the parking lot. You'll see a gate. Through there are the dog kennels."

"Thanks. I must have missed the gate." Tom gave her his dazzling smile and tugged Bradyn closer to him.

"It's okay." She laughed nervously.

"Do I need to fill out any forms or papers?"

"No." She shook her head. "Not yet. When you, um- If you, uh- If you find a dog that you want to adopt, alert one of the handlers. Or you can come back in here and tell me. You get to play with the dog in a closed-in yard and if you decide to adopt that particular dog, you'll fill out the forms. But you don't have to do that right now.

"Daddy, we go hava dog?" Bradyn asked as he swung Tom's arm back and forth.

Tom looked down quickly and back up at the girl. "Thanks." He smiled and took the paper. He picked Bradyn up and straightened his shirt. "Yeah, let's go take a look at these dogs. Do you think we'll find one?"

"We fye ten!"

"Ten! That's a lot of dogs." Tom laughed as they stepped out the door and into the sun. "Do you know how many ten is?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded.

"How many?" Tom asked.

"I doe no." Bradyn shrugged and giggled at Tom.

"That's this many." Tom set Bradyn on the ground and showed Bradyn his hands as he counted to ten on his fingers. "See? That's ten."

"Wow."

"That'd be a lot of dogs, huh?"

"Yeah, we have one?"

"Yeah, we're only gonna get one."

"Kay." Bradyn skipped ahead toward the closed gate. He grabbed the chain link door and looked through it. "Daddy!!" He shouted. "Is dogs!"

"There are dogs in there?" Tom laughed as he walked up and lifted the little lever on the door to open it. They walked inside and saw rows of concrete kennels with chain link fronts to see the dogs inside.

"They hava cage?" Bradyn frowned as he looked up at Tom and grabbed his hand tightly.

"Yeah, they have to stay in cages here."

"Why?"

"So that they don't run around and hurt people."

"Is mean?"

"No, they probably aren't mean but they might get a little too excited and accidentally knock little kids over." Tom said softly as they stood at the end of one aisle.

"Why?"

"Because they like to get visitors."

"Anay say ina cage?"

"Yeah, they stay in their cage until we take one out."

"One?"

"Only one." Tom nodded and looked down at Bradyn who still looked nervous. "Do you want me to carry you?"

"Yeah." Bradyn immediately dropped Tom's hand and extended his arms to be picked up. "Ten dogs, Daddy."

"There are more than ten here."

"Yeah." Bradyn's eyes opened wide as Tom headed down the first aisle.

"So we're looking for a brown dog, right?" He asked softly as the dogs on either side of him jumped up and ran to the fence that separated them from the walkway. Bradyn nodded mutely and clung to Tom's shirt. "Okay. Let's see-" They walked slowly and looked at all of the dogs as he tried to picture them in his backyard.

The little laminated signs on each of the kennels detailed the dog's breed, age, sex and temperament as well as any additional notes. "Look at this one, buddy. This is a girl and her name is Nova. She's three years old, just like you'll be in January. She was dropped off here because her family moved away." He read softly. "She's pretty, isn't she?" Tom knelt next to the kennel front with Bradyn on his knee to look at the Shepherd mix dog huddled in the far corner.

"She big." Bradyn whispered as he stared.

"Yeah, she's going to be pretty big. Let's keep looking." Tom picked him up again and they continued walking up and down the aisles. There were so many dogs there to look at but Tom knew that when they found the right one, they would know. Bradyn loosened up his grip as they went and eventually walked on his own while holding onto Tom's hand. He approached the kennels of the smaller dogs but stood far enough away that he couldn't touch the fences.

"This looks like these are all puppies." Tom said as he glanced down the shortest row there.

"We see a puppy?"

"I don't think we want a puppy though, buddy." Tom shook his head and pulled Bradyn to the last row.

"We see?"

"We'll go see them later maybe." Tom said softly. He wanted to find a dog at the shelter so that they would not only help themselves but the dog as well. Tom was getting a little discouraged that they hadn't found anything right when Bradyn dropped his hand and ran up to a kennel on the left. He laced his fingers through the chain link and pressed his little knees up against the fence.

"Bradyn!" Tom raised his voice and lurched forward to grab the back of his shirt. He pulled Bradyn off the fence as a surge of adrenaline hit his system. "Bradyn, don't do that! Not all of these dogs are nice. You could get hurt." He scolded Bradyn as he held him up by his shirt.

"Daddy!" Bradyn laughed and wiggled to be set down. "Isa good puppy."

"I don't want you to ever run up to these kennels like that again, do you hear me? You could get hurt." Tom repeated louder than necessary to be heard over the pounding of his heart.

"Kay." Bradyn nodded and straightened his shirt as Tom set him down. He walked over to the same kennel again. He stood a foot away from the fence and smiled in at the dog. "Isa good puppy, Daddy. She kiss."

Tom looked down at the dog in the kennel to see that she was wagging her tail so hard her whole body shook and she was licking the chain link fence with enthusiasm. He leaned forward and kept his hand on Bradyn's head to keep him back from the fence as he read her information. "She's about four years old. A mutt. She was found abandoned at the beach? I don't know about that." Tom knelt down beside Bradyn and looked at the excited dog. He carefully held his hand out to let her sniff him and she licked his fingers with a dog grin.

"She kiss you." Bradyn giggled.

"Yeah, she seems nice."

"I sink we have."

"You think we should take her home?" Tom looked at Bradyn.

"Yeah. I sink she my."

"She's yours?"

"Yeah." Bradyn nodded.

Tom stood up and read over her little card again. He took one of the numbers and tucked it in his pocket. "Okay, let's go see." He took Bradyn's hand and began to leave.

"No, we have."

"We have to go see the people who work here so we can take her out for a minute."

"No, we have." Bradyn said as he tried to pull Tom back to the kennel.

"We're going to come right back." Tom picked Bradyn up and carried him over to where one of the keepers was hosing down empty kennels. "Hi. I'd like to see one of your dogs."

"Which one?" He turned off the hose and wiped his hands on his grubby coveralls.

Tom led the way back to the kennel and smiled.

"Oh, she's a darling." The keeper said as he reached for his ring of keys. "If you'd like, you can go on into the courtyard. I will take her out there to you." He smiled down at the dog as he pulled the gate open.

"Okay." Tom smiled as the dog waited patiently just inside the fence. "Where's the courtyard?"

"Through the door behind the area I was just cleaning." He smiled and clipped the leash to the dog's collar.

"Thanks." Tom smiled and waved as he took Bradyn and walked away.

"Daddy, we have?"

"We're going to go play with her in the little yard first."

Bradyn sighed and shook his head. "I just have my hows."

"I know you just want to take her home but we need to make sure she's right." Tom explained as he pulled the little play area gate open and stepped in. There were old tennis balls and several chew toys in there, as well as a few benches and a large tree in the corner.

After a few minutes of waiting, the keeper walked up with the dog on a leash and opened the little gate. He followed her in and walked her over to where Tom and Bradyn were sitting. "Here." He handed the leash to Tom. "She's a really good dog. She's been here for quite a while. It's hard to believe no one has chosen her."

"The sign on her cage said she was abandoned."

"Yeah. A family found her on the beach. They searched for the owners for a week. They wanted to keep her but their children were allergic." He shrugged.

"Does she play well with children?"

"Yeah. The family that brought her in has three kids. She's very good with children."

"Awesome." Tom nodded. "Would it be okay if I took the leash off her?"

"Sure! Play with her for a little while." The keeper nodded with a smile.

"Thanks." Tom smiled and released her from the leash. She remained seated with her tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth, making her look like she was making a face at them.

The keeper left the play area and said, "When your'e done, put her leash back on her and come find me."

"Okay." Tom waved and looked down at the dog. "So-"

"I pay?" Bradyn asked as he looked at the dog.

"Hang on." Tom set Bradyn on the bench then took a step closer to the dog who had yet to move. He knelt in front of her and let her sniff his hands, which she again licked. Tom rubbed her behind her ears and scratched down her back. "You're a good girl, aren't you?" She wagged her tail happily in response but didn't stand up.

Tom went back to the bench and watched her lower body shake as she wagged her tail. "Well, come here." He tapped his knee and she excitedly ran over and placed her head on his knee. "Wow. Look at that." He scratched behind her ears and said. "Sit." She obliged and looked at Bradyn. "Lay down." Tom said with a smile. She looked up at him then laid flat down on her stomach, her tail never stopping. "You're awesome." Tom laughed and tapped his knee again. She jumped up and licked his hands.

"Daddy, I pay now?" Bradyn asked.

"Yeah, let her sniff you first though." Tom took Bradyn's hands and held them out for her. She leaned over tentatively and sniffed. She bumped her nose against his fingers. "She likes you." Tom smiled.

"Is code."

"Her nose is cold?"

"Yeah." Bradyn giggled as he reached out to touch her back. She stood still while he patted her back all the way down to her tail. "Where a ball?"

"There's a ball over there. You want to see if she'll go get it?"

"Yeah." Bradyn ran over to the pile of old tennis balls and threw one a few feet. The dog ran after it, then brought it right back to Bradyn's feet where she laid it on the grass and wagged her tail at him.

"Look at that."

"Again!" Bradyn shouted as he threw the ball even further. She ran after it again and brought it back.

"Come here, girl." Tom stood up as she immediately followed his command. He sat on the ground in front of her and used both hands to scratch her ears and rub down her back. After a few seconds of scratching he tried to play rough with her to see how far she'd go like that. With other dogs, they'd get into it and start play fighting with him when he pretended to growl at them but this dog just lay on her side and smiled up at him. She wasn't even going to pretend to be aggressive.

"Kay, we have her home now?" Bradyn asked as he sat down next to her as she lay on her side. He leaned over and draped his body across her stomach. "Go home and hava nap?"

"You need a nap?" Tom asked.

"An she."

Tom laughed lightly as the dog nuzzled Bradyn's leg to get him to scoot over a bit, to a position that was probably more comfortable for her. As soon as he scooted she lay her head back down and sighed as Bradyn climbed all the way over her and patted her side a little too roughly.

"Not so hard, buddy. You have to be gentle." Tom said.

"Sorry, dog." Bradyn patted her gently and touched her floppy ears.

"She's not exactly brown." Tom said slowly. She was in fact a little bit of everything. Her underside was white and her feet were black and tan while the rest of her, including her tail, was a reddish brown. Her face was almost all black and white except a little patch on her chin that was brown. To call her a mix was an understatement. She had to have at least four different breeds in her. Her tail was like a Shepherd, thick and long, while her coat was like a Retriever, short and silky. Her face was almost all hound dog though, along with the floppy ears that twitched when her tail wagged.

"Yeah, has bown." Bradyn nodded.

"You think we should take her home?"

"Yeah." Bradyn sighed and hugged her neck. "We go home now."

"Okay." Tom smiled. The decision was easy. Bradyn had already fallen in love with her and she'd made two quick friends. Tom clasped the leash back on her collar and picked Bradyn up. They went in search of the keeper to tell them they wanted to take her home.

----------------

Two hours later, they had filled out the paper work, paid the fifty euros, stopped at the pet store, and were finally home. Tom lead her through the house to the backyard where she immediately took off on a sniffing adventure of her new yard. She spent a lot of time at Bradyn's play set before she sniffed around the gate surrounding the pool.

Bradyn sat on the step leading to the lawn with his chin in his hand just watching the dog dart from one spot to the next getting used to all the new scents. "So what should we name her?" Tom asked as he sat on the step beside Bradyn.

"Ummm, Chase."

"No, we can't name her Chase."

"Jayda?"

"Bill's dog's name is Jayda. We can't have two Jaydas."

"I say her Gay-og?"

"You're just being silly now." Tom laughed.

"I doe no." Bradyn shrugged and looked at the dog sniffing around the backyard.

"How about Daisy?"

"No." Bradyn shook his head and sighed. "We cawin her Lucy?"

"You want to cal her Lucy?"

"Yeah." Bradyn giggled. "Lucy Lucy Lucy!" He began to sing. "Lucy ina sky wiff die-mans."

"Oh, like from the song?"

"Yeah."

Tom looked out at the dog and shrugged. It was Bradyn's dog really. He could name her whatever he wanted. "I think Lucy is a good name."

"Yeah."

"Lucy! Come here, girl." Tom raised his voice to get the dog's attention. She looked up from her task of sniffing Bradyn's play set again and then trotted over to where they sat. "Good girl. You're a good girl, Lucy. How did we get so lucky?"

Lucy looked up and licked his cheek as her tail wagged even faster.

"Hi, Lucy. I no bye an you no bye."

Tom laughed. "That's right. You don't bite people and she won't bite people either."

"Bye is a no-no." Bradyn shook his head and wrapped his arms around her neck again as he practically sat on her back. "I pay ball?"

"Sure, you can see if she wants to play ball." Tom nodded and reached into the pet store bag and pulled out a bright pink rubber ball. "Here you go." He handed it to Bradyn who lobbed it over his head for Lucy. She ran after the ball, caught it and sniffed her way back to where Bradyn stood.

Tom watched as Bradyn and Lucy played together like lifetime friends. She was gentle with him and always careful to drop the ball at his feet so he didn't have to run after it. When they were both tired out Lucy laid in the shade so that Bradyn could sit beside her and pat her tummy. He yawned and eyed Lucy's back like a big pillow before he looked over at Tom.

"Are you tired, buddy?"

"Yeah, an Lucy."

"Yeah, she's tired too. It's been a busy day for her." Tom smiled as he bent down to pick Bradyn up. "Why don't we go inside so you can take a nap. When you wake up we can take Lucy for a walk around the neighborhood or something."

"See can see my?"

"She can see your what?"

"My nap?"

"Your nap? You mean you want her to come inside and take a nap with you?"

"Yeah."

"No, she has to nap outside. This is where doggies sleep. Little boys sleep inside." Tom shook his head and carried Bradyn into the house. "Maybe later we can bring her in the house to see if she likes it."

"Kay." Bradyn yawned again and laid his head on Tom's shoulder. They stopped off at the bathroom before Tom laid him in his own bed for his nap.

"Have a nice nap." Tom whispered from the door.

"Nigh-nigh." Bradyn squished his face into the pillow and sighed softly. Tom smiled with a content sigh before he shut the door half-way and headed downstairs.

----------------

While Bradyn was napping, Tom called his pre-school to find out about getting back in the half-day program since they'd be home for a while. To his surprise, Bradyn's spot was still vacant and he could start the next day. Tom arranged for Bradyn to go Tuesday's and Thursday's like before and couldn't wait to tell Bradyn. He loved his little class and going to the pre-school really helped with his vocabulary and behavior.

With the time he had left over, Tom went to the kitchen and made a shopping list. He'd be needing snacks for Bradyn's school plus the house was pretty bare still. They'd be home for another few months, at least until after the New Year, so he knew he could stock up well and not have it go to waste. He decided to go shopping the next day while Bradyn was at school and smiled at how domesticated he had become.

----------------

When Bradyn woke up a short while later, Tom told him that he was going to get to go back to school the next day and see all of his friends. Bradyn didn't seem that interested. He was more concerned with going back outside to play with Lucy. Tom opened the back door and let Bradyn run down the steps to his play set. He snickered to himself and thought, "This is perfect. She'll wear him out everyday and he'll go to bed early and take a good nap."

They spent the evening with Lucy and showed her into the house. Bradyn gave her a tour to let her sniff around. She finished her day by curling up on the landing of the stairs facing the front door. When Tom carried Bradyn upstairs for bed, she looked up and stood to follow them to Bradyn's room. She stood at the door while Tom tucked him in, then followed Tom back down to the living room.

"Come here, girl." Tom sighed as he fell back into the couch. Lucy walked over and put her head in Tom's lap so that he could scratch her behind her ears and pet her head. "You're such a good dog. We really lucked out." He kissed the top of her furry head and leaned back and turned the TV on. Lucy lay at his feet with a heavy sigh and stayed there until he put her out after eleven when he finally went to bed himself.

----------------

The next morning, Tom fed Lucy first thing, then made a big breakfast for himself and Bradyn and got a snack ready for Bradyn to take with him to school. They loaded up his backpack together and made sure to put Lello on top, just in case, before they headed for school.

When Tom pulled up in front of Bradyn's school, he was worried that Bradyn wouldn't want to go or would have a hard time getting back into the swing of things but when he opened the back door all of his worry disappeared.

"My wok!" Bradyn's face lit up as he wiggled his way out of his seat and practically jumped out of the car.

"Your work?" Tom laughed and held tight to his hand. "This is your school. Do you remember your school?"

"Yeah." Bradyn giggled. "Is my."

"It's yours, yeah. Kind of." They walked into the front room and into the office to get Bradyn started again. Tom signed Bradyn in as the little boy bounced around his feet with his little lunch bag hanging from his hand.

"We go?"

"In just a second." Tom nodded as he wrote out a check for the school. "He's kind of excited." He smiled apologetically at the school director.

"That's a good sign." She laughed softly and leaned over her desk. "Bradyn, right now your class is doing some art projects. Do you want to go see what they're doing?"

"Yeah." Bradyn tugged on Tom's hand.

"Let me show you where it is." She stepped around her desk and led the way down the hall to the same room he was in before.

"You remember this, don't you? Miss Heather is here and your buddy Dylan."

"Daddy, you say?"

"No, I can't stay. This is your school. I have to go grocery shopping." Tom smiled as he looked around the room. "But check out all this fun stuff you'll get to do. Wow! Look at that." He pointed to the table where the other kids were sitting. "It looks like they're painting. Do you want to go see what they're doing?"

"I pain?"

"Sure, you can paint." Tom nodded and placed his hand on Bradyn's head to lead him over to the table. "Here you go."

"Hi, Bradyn! We're glad to have you back." Heather said with a cheerful smile. "Are you ready to paint? We're making hand prints today."

"Yeah. An Daddy?"

"Well, I think your Daddy might have other plans but why don't you come sit here next to Tyler and we can make your Daddy a very special art project. Maybe you can hang it on the fridge at home?"

"Ona door?" Bradyn asked with a look of excitement.

"Maybe." Heather smiled and looked up at Tom.

"Absolutely." Tom said quickly. "You can make a cool hand print picture and we'll tape it up tonight." He leaned over and kissed the top of Bradyn's head. "I'll be back to get you in a little bit. Okay, buddy?"

"Kay, bye." Bradyn waved over his shoulder and didn't even look back once Tom headed out of the room. Tom left Bradyn's bag and sweatshirt in his cubby hole. He stood at the door for a second to watch the teacher's assistant fit Bradyn with a smock and roll the sleeves up to his elbows. He laughed softly to himself before he turned to walk down the hall.

Deep inside, Tom knew that Bradyn would be fine at the daycare and even have a great time but it was still hard to be away from him for any length of time. He walked out to his car with his hand in his pocket, feeling for the grocery list he'd made up earlier. With that in his hand he headed for the store and spent more than an hour picking up necessities and special treats for himself and Bradyn.

By the time he got home, he had remembered how nice it was to have a few hours to himself and he took his time putting the groceries away. When he was done he lay out on his couch and sighed as he closed his eyes. He held his cordless phone in his hand and ran his thumb over the numbers as a small smile worked its way across his lips. He dialed Tayla's number and hoped she'd be home.

His smile grew when she answered the phone with a short laugh. "Hello?"

"Hey, you."

"Hey! Your ears must have been burning! I was just talking about you." She laughed again and kicked back on her couch.

"Oh, yeah? Anything incriminating?"

"Not exactly."

"Uh oh." Tom laughed. "So who were you talking about me to?"

"David."

"Oh, David, huh? He's a trouble maker."

"I know." Tayla continued to smile as she sighed.

"So guess what?"

"What?"

"We got a dog."

"You did?" She sat up straight. "You're kidding. What kind?"

"She's a mutt. She seriously looks like she has a little bit of everything in her."

"Where did you get her?"

"At the shelter. She's about four years old, they're not too sure. She's great with kids though and Bradyn loves her. She's trained and everything. You're going to love her."

"Aww, that's cute. What's her name?"

"Bradyn wants to call her Lucy."

"And what Bradyn says goes?" Tayla smiled, knowing that was the case.

"Well, you know, it's his dog." Tom shrugged.

"And he's got you wrapped around his little finger."

"Yeah, that too." Tom laughed. "She really is great though, Tayla. She doesn't come in the house unless I call her. She sits, lays down, rolls over, fetches. She lets Bradyn crawl all over her and when she gets tired of it she just stands up and moves away."

"That's really good." Tayla flipped through the channel guide on her TV to find something to watch. "I can't wait to meet her."

"Hopefully soon." Tom dropped his arm over his head and sighed.

"This weekend." She smiled and dropped the remote on the couch beside her.

"Really?" His eyes flew open as he smiled. "You're coming this weekend?"

"Yeah, David called last night to see if I wanted to take on another project."

"You get a whole new group of sexy boys to dress up?" Tom laughed and wished she were there with him right then.

"Girls actually. It's a new group of four girls. I think he said they were between seventeen and twenty so that should be fun."

"Yay." Tom rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, so I get to dress them up like Barbies for a few events they have to do. You know the drill."

"I know the drill all too well."

"So I was thinking, if it's okay with you maybe- Can I stay with you?"

"Of course, it's okay. Why wouldn't it be okay?"

"I don't know. I mean, I didn't know if you guys were going to be around or whatever."

"Yeah, we'll be here." Tom nodded. "But even if we weren't you could stay here."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's not like you don't know the codes and everything."

"Well, yeah but-"

"Well, yeah but what? That's what boyfriends and girlfriends do. They let each other stay over at their house even when they're not there." Tom lowered his voice a bit. "Of course, I usually like it better when I'm here too."

Tayla blushed and smiled. "Me too. Anyway, I'll be there and I can't wait to see you guys. And Lucy too, of course."

"Of course." Tom laughed. "Bradyn will be excited to see you."

"Is he around?"

"He's at school. He started back today."

"Oh cool, how does he feel about going back?"

"He was excited." Tom laughed. "You should have seen him. He practically dove out of the car. He was a little worried when I went to leave but when he found out they got to paint he was like 'BYE!'"

"Awww, he cares."

"Yeah, I know. He'll be happy to see me when I get there. Of course, he'll be even more excited about putting his art on the fridge. I swear, he's a budding Picasso or something."

"Very cool. He has good artistic genes."

"Yeah." Tom sighed and smiled proudly. "So you'll be here on Saturday?"

"Tomorrow afternoon actually. I think my flight comes in at three but David is picking me up to take me to the compound to meet the girls so I can spend the day Saturday dressing them up."

"Is there something going on Saturday night?"

"For them?"

"Yeah."

"They're doing some concert thing and it's like their big coming out party or something. So I need to work on their press gear for before and I think he said I was doing performance wear as well but I don't know. I'm pretty much going to see when I get there."

"Sounds fun."

"Yeah. I can't wait until you guys start doing stuff again though. It's no fun hanging around out here in Connecticut with no job."

"So get a job."

"There aren't that many cute bands here looking for a wardrobe mistress."

"You could always get a job at a store you know. A real job."

"Oh, a real job, huh?" Tayla laughed. "Yeah, I see what you mean. Forget that. I manage my money well enough not to need a real job when I'm not on tour. I kick ass."

"Sounds like it." Tom smiled.

"But anyway, tomorrow night when I get done at the compound can I come over?"

"Of course." Tom nodded. "In fact, maybe Bradyn and I will meet you over there and meet the girls and then you can just come home with us."

"Works for me." Tayla said as her stomach growled. "I'm hungry."

"Oh shit." Tom sat up quickly and looked at his watch. "It's nearly noon here. I have to go get Bradyn at the daycare. Shit, I totally spaced out."

"What time were you supposed to be there?"

"I have like, ten minutes." Tom slid his feet into his sandals and grabbed his keys as he headed for the door with the phone in his hand. "I'll call you later."

"Okay."

"Or I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay." Tayla laughed.

"Love you."

"I love you too." She said softly before she hung up the phone. Tom tossed his cordless onto the couch in the front room as he bolted out the door to his car.

Chapter Twelve